The Effect of Pollution and Heat on High Skill Public Sector Worker Productivity in China

Matthew Kahn and Pei Li

No 25594, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: The quality of governance depends on public sector worker productivity. We use micro data from China to document that judges are less productive on polluted days. Building on the insights of Alchian and Kessel (1962), we discuss the role of organization design and the incentives of public versus for profit organizations in designing a workplace that reduces the productivity costs of local disamenities. We find that the public sector productivity elasticities are larger than published estimates of the private sector productivity elasticities with respect to pollution.

JEL-codes: H11 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-eff, nep-env, nep-lma and nep-tra
Note: EEE PE PR
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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