Working Paper: NBER ID: w20012
Authors: Ajay Agrawal; John McHale; Alexander Oettl
Abstract: The growing peer effects literature pays particular attention to the role of stars. We decompose the causal effect of hiring a star in terms of the productivity impact on: 1) co-located incumbents and 2) new recruits. Using longitudinal university department-level data we report that hiring a star does not increase overall incumbent productivity, although this aggregate effect hides offsetting effects on related (positive) versus unrelated (negative) colleagues. However, the primary impact comes from an increase in the average quality of subsequent recruits. This is most pronounced at mid-ranked institutions, suggesting implications for the socially optimal spatial organization of talent.
Keywords: peer effects; stars; productivity; recruitment; evolutionary biology
JEL Codes: I23; J24; O31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Average department-level output (E23) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Department-level output (excluding star's contribution) (A39) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Productivity of related incumbents (O49) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Productivity of unrelated incumbents (O49) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Quality of new joiners (L15) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Quality of related joiners (L15) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Quality of unrelated joiners (L15) |
| Engagement through collaboration (O36) | Productivity of incumbents (D24) |
| Engagement through collaboration (O36) | Quality of new recruits (J24) |
| Arrival of a star (Y60) | Overall productivity (E23) |