Emotions and Incentives

Matthias Kräkel

No 1270, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We introduce a concept of emotions that emerge when workers compare their own performance with a given standard or with the performances of co-workers. Assuming heterogeneity among the workers the interplay of emotions and incentives is analyzed by focusing on three incentive schemes that are frequently used in practice: tournaments, bonuses and piece rates. We identify certain conditions under which emotions lead to additional incentives and under which the employer benefits from emotional workers. Furthermore, the concept of emotions is used to explain puzzling results from laboratory and field experiments. Finally, the results provide some insights on an employer's possible preferences in favor of heterogeneous instead of homogeneous work groups.

Keywords: piece rates; incentives; emotions; bonuses; tournaments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J3 M5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 59 pages
Date: 2004-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-evo and nep-exp
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published as 'Emotions in tournaments' in: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2008, 67 (1), 204 - 214

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Working Paper: Emotions and Incentives (2004)
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