Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2387
Authors: Andrea Ichino; Giovanni Maggi
Abstract: The prevalence of shirking within a large Italian bank appears to be characterized by significant regional differentials. In particular, absenteeism and misconduct episodes are substantially more prevalent in the south. We consider a number of potential explanations for this fact: different individual backgrounds; group-interaction effects; sorting of workers across regions; differences in local attributes; different hiring policies and discrimination against southern workers. Our analysis suggests that individual backgrounds, group-interaction effects and sorting effects contribute to explain the north-south shirking differential. None of the other explanations appears to be of first-order importance.
Keywords: Group Interaction Effects; Shirking; Regional Differentials
JEL Codes: J20; K40
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Individual background (I24) | Shirking behavior (J22) |
| Work environment (J29) | Shirking behavior (J22) |
| Mover's shirking level (D22) | Average shirking level of coworkers (J22) |
| On-the-job movers (J62) | Propensity to shirk (H31) |
| Local attributes (C49) | Shirking behavior (J22) |