Brains Versus Brawn: Ordinal Rank Effects in Job Training
Is it better to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?
Using data from Air Force basic military training, Civitas Senior Fellow Scott Carrell and Alexander Chesney examine the impacts of relative rank in cognitive and physical ability on enlistees short and longer-run outcomes. Results show strong evidence for the “big fish, small pond” phenomenon, meaning that individuals of equal ability tend to thrive when they are higher on the proverbial pecking order of ability within their assigned group. Findings also suggest that overall group productivity could be improved by altering the way military personnel are assigned to training groups.
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This paper was originally published by the Journal of Public Economics.
Pursuit of Happiness
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‘American Oasis’ Review: The Lure of the Desert
The Southwest has recently sent left-leaning senators to Washington. As more minorities move there, the region might shift to the right.
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California’s Population Bump Won’t Make Up for Its Long Term Slide
People are leaving, or not coming to California, for rational reasons — and most of them are economic.
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