Michael Gibbs

Michael Gibbs studies the economics of human resources and organizational design. He is co-author (with Edward Lazear) of the leading textbook in the field, Personnel Economics in Practice. The 3rd edition was published in 2014. It has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian and Spanish, and a Chinese edition is forthcoming. Gibbs''s research has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economics & Statistics, Industrial & Labor Relations Review, Accounting Review, and other journals. Professor Gibbs is a Research Fellow of the Center for the Study of Labor (IZA) and the Institute for Compensation Studies. From 2012-2015, he was Faculty Director of Booth’s Executive MBA program.

In 2007 Gibbs received the Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature from the American Accounting Association. He has received three Hillel Einhorn Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Gibbs earned an AB, AM and PhD in economics, all from the University of Chicago.

Research Interests

• Personnel economics.

Academic Areas

• Microeconomics

Publications

• Personnel Economics in Practice Translations: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Spanish J. Wiley & Sons (with Edward Lazear).
• “A Field Experiment in Motivating Employee Ideas” Review of Economics & Statistics, November 2017 (with Susanne Neckermann & Christoph Siemroth)
• “Past, Present and Future Compensation Research: Economist Perspectives” Compensation & Benefits Review, April 2017
• “How is New Technology Changing Job Design?” IZA World of Labor, March 2017
• “An Empirical Analysis of Post-Merger Organizational Integration” Scandinavian Journal of Economics, July 2016 (with Kathryn Ierulli & Valerie Smeets)
• “Design & Implementation of Pay for Performance” Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics, June 2013
• “Designing Incentive Plans: New Insights from Academic Research” World at Work Journal, December 2012
• “Why Are Jobs Designed the Way They Are?” Research in Labor Economics, 2010 (with Alec Levenson & Cindy Zoghi)
• “The Personnel Economics Approach to Public Workforce Research” Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, November 2009
• “Performance Measure Properties and Incentive Plan Design” Industrial Relations, April 2009 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede & Mark Vargus)
• “Globalization, Superstars, and Reputation: Theory and Evidence from the Wine Industry” Journal of Wine Economics, Spring 2009 (with Mikel Tapia & Frederic Warzynski)
• “Discussion of ‘Nonfinancial Performance Measures and Promotion-Based Incentives’” Journal of Accounting Research, May 2008
• “Returns to Skills and Personnel Management: U.S. Department of Defense Scientists and Engineers” Economic Inquiry, April 2006
• “The Benefits of Evaluating Performance Subjectively” Performance Improvement Journal, 2005 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede, & Mark Vargus)
• “Do Formal Salary Systems Really Matter?” Industrial & Labor Relations Review, October 2004 (with Wallace Hendricks)
• “Determinants and Effects of Subjectivity in Incentives” The Accounting Review, April 2004 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede, & Mark Vargus)
• “The Economic Approach to Personnel Research” In The Expansion of Economics, M.E. Sharpe, ed. S. Grossbard-Schechtman, January 2002 (with Alec Levenson)
• “Incentive Compensation in a Corporate Hierarchy” Journal of Accounting & Economics / Journal of Labor Economics joint issue, March/May 1995
• “The Internal Economics of the Firm: Evidence from Personnel Data” Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1994 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
• “The Wage Policy of a Firm” Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1994 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
• “Testing Tournaments? An Appraisal of the Theory and Evidence” Labor Law Journal, August 1994
• “Hierarchies and Compensation: A Case Study” European Economic Review, 1993 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)