Amid growing political backlash and the rollback of DEI initiatives in the US and abroad, we explore whether voluntary gender equality programs produce measurable reductions in workplace gender discrimination, and how the political context mediates these effects. We examine the theoretical tension regarding whether such agendas are primarily about window dressing or in genuine pursuit of organizational gender equity. Using a quasi-natural experiment design, our findings suggest that DEI commitments, when embedded in credible global frameworks, can produce substantive improvements in organizational behavior. This evidence contributes to ongoing debates over the value of corporate DEI efforts.
ABSTRACT This study examines how colleagues' working hours influence individual working hours preferences. We conducted a representative survey experiment among German employees in 2024, in which participants received randomized information about colleagues' working hours. We combine the survey experiment with quantitative and LLM‐based text analysis of an open‐ended question. Colleagues' hours causally influence stated preferences, yet respondents' explanations focus on personal reasons. This shows that social factors influence working time preferences alongside the individual considerations that respondents most frequently identify. Our findings highlight the importance of collective action for working‐time policy and reveal methodological considerations for studying labor supply preferences.
ABSTRACT The Covid‐19 pandemic reshaped labor markets worldwide, including the emergence of the “Great Resignation” (GR). This study examines whether Italy's GR reflects labor force exits or job switching and identifies and explores which job attributes are associated with these reallocation patterns. Using Italian Labor Force Survey data, we construct a job‐switching indicator that aligns with administrative resignation trends and enables the exploration of potential determinants through a task‐based approach. Results are consistent with the interpretation that Italy's Great Resignation mainly reflects job reallocation across occupations characterized by differences in flexibility, meaning, and working conditions.
We analyze how rising trade exposure from China and Eastern Europe affected collective bargaining coverage in German plants from 1996 to 2008. Using cross-industry variation in trade exposure and instrumenting with trade flows from other high-income countries, we find that higher import exposure increased the likelihood that plants exited industry-wide bargaining agreements, while export exposure had no average effect. Overall, rising trade exposure explains about 13% of the decline in industry-wide bargaining coverage. The import effect is stronger for small and medium-sized plants, while export opportunities help stabilize participation among large plants and those with works councils.
Salary History Bans (SHBs) prohibit employers from requesting applicants' salary histories, shifting bargaining power toward workers and reducing employers' information about worker productivity. We find that SHB adoption is associated with lower product differentiation, particularly among firms with greater exposure to labor costs and innovative investment, greater reliance on skilled labor and exposure to hiring frictions, and rents not already contested through collective bargaining. These findings support both bargaining and information asymmetry channels. SHBs are also associated with lower operating margins among highly differentiated firms, suggesting that weaker differentiation ultimately erodes the product-market performance of industry leaders.
