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Discussion Paper Details

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Title: The Return to Knowledge Hierarchies

Author(s): Luis Garicano and Thomas Hubbard

Publication Date: February 2007

Keyword(s): hedonics, hierarchy, matching, scale of operations effects, sorting and Structural Estimation

Programme Area(s): Industrial Organization

Abstract: Hierarchies allow individuals to leverage their knowledge through others' time. This mechanism increases productivity and amplifies the impact of skill heterogeneity on earnings inequality. To quantify this effect, we analyze the earnings and organization of U.S. lawyers and use the equilibrium model of knowledge hierarchies in Garicano and Rossi-Hansberg (2006) to assess how much lawyers' productivity and the distribution of earnings across lawyers reflects lawyers' ability to organize problem-solving hierarchically. We analyze earnings, organizational, and assignment patterns and show that they are generally consistent with the main predictions of the model. We then use these data to estimate the model. Our estimates imply that hierarchical production leads to at least a 30% increase in production in this industry, relative to a situation where lawyers within the same office do not

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Bibliographic Reference

Garicano, L and Hubbard, T. 2007. 'The Return to Knowledge Hierarchies'. London, Centre for Economic Policy Research. https://cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=6077