BÜRO BERLIN

Ort: Hybrid – Berliner Büro und Teams-Veranstaltung

Zeit: 13:30 Uhr – 14:30 Uhr

Titel: “Employment, Productivity, and Weak Institutions: Experimental Evidence from Nigeria”

Abstract:Consequences of weak institutions can profoundly shape economic activity. In many low-income countries, weak contract enforcement creates an economic environment where firms frequently fail to pay employees’ contractual salaries. This paper investigates how such frictions affect labor supply behavior. Using original survey data from Nigeria, we document that salary delays are a widespread experience among workers, causing pervasive concerns about employers not paying wages as agreed. We then present evidence from a field experiment in which we employ 299 workers for real data classification tasks in Lagos. Delaying salaries for a random subset of employees (who had been informed about this possibility as part of the job offer) does not reduce productivity; if anything, their productivity increases. This result is consistent with the idea that workers want to signal their value to the employer in the presence of uncertainty. Finally, a supplementary field experiment explores how payment uncertainty affects workers’ willingness to accept jobs. Job offers that credibly signal reliable salary payments significantly increase take-up rates. Strikingly, this effect is driven by individuals who initially reported not seeking employment, suggesting that payment uncertainty deters labor market participation among those with viable outside options.

When: 27 October 2025
Where: Berlin, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft

ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, DIW Berlin (the German Institute for Economic Research), WZB (Berlin Social Science Center), and RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research are pleased to invite to the Leibniz Open Science Day 2025: Better Science for Better Policies.

With the growing importance of social sciences in addressing societal challenges, the significance of a meta-scientific perspective is also increasingly on the rise. We need a deeper understanding of how evidence is generated and communicated to society and policymakers.

The keynote speech will be given by Johanna Rickne (Stockholm University)

We invite researchers to submit their extended abstracts (max. 750 words) via e-mail to Heike Henningsen (h.henningsen@zbw.eu) by 1 August. Notifications will be sent by 1 September. 

Registration will also be possible from 1 September on. 

Limited travel assistance is available for junior researchers (doctoral students, non-tenured postdocs, and assistant professors). Please indicate in your submission whether you will require funding.

More information about the event and the program can be found here.

Ort: Hybrid – Berliner Büro und Teams-Veranstaltung

Zeit: 13:30 Uhr – 14:30 Uhr

Titel: tba

Abstract: tba