WFH or RTO?
What the data say about the role of the office in the postpandemic age.
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Biography
Michael Gibbs studies the economics of human resources and organizational design. He is co-author of the leading textbook in the field, Personnel Economics in Practice, which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian and Spanish. Gibbs's research has been published in the Journal of Political Economy - Microeconomics, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Accounting Review, Nature Scientific Reports, and other journals. Professor Gibbs is a Research Fellow of the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). From 2012-2015, he was Faculty Director of Booth鈥檚 Executive MBA program (now the Sokolov Executive MBA Program).
Gibbs received the Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature from the American Accounting Association. He has received four 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
Selected Publications
Personnel Economics in Practice听Translations: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Spanish
J. Wiley & Sons (with Edward Lazear).
鈥淛ob Design, Learning & Intrinsic Motivation鈥�
Research in Labor Economics, forthcoming
鈥淓mployee Innovation During Office Work, Work from Home and Hybrid Work鈥�
Nature Scientific Reports, 2024 (with Christoph Siemroth & Friederike Mengel)
鈥淲ork from Home & Productivity: Evidence from Personnel & Analytics Data on IT Professionals鈥�
Journal of Political Economy听鈥� Microeconoics, 2023 (with Christoph Siemroth & Friederike Mengel)
鈥淧erformance Management: Economics Perspective鈥�
鈥淩esponse to Performance Management: Psychological Perspective鈥�
Interdisciplinary Foundations for Organizational Science & Application: A Dialogue Between Psychology & Economics, in press. Guzella Grote, et al, ed., Oxford University Press
鈥淛ob Design鈥�
Encyclopedia of Labour Studies, 2023. Tor Eriksson ed., Edward Elger Press
鈥淒odging a Draft: Gary Becker鈥檚 Lost Paper on Conscription鈥�
The All-Volunteer Force: Fifty Years of History, 2023.听William Taylor ed., University of Kansas Press (with Tim Perri)
鈥淗ow is New Technology Changing Job Design?鈥�
IZA World of Labor, August 2022 (with Sergei Bazylik; update of 2017 version)
鈥�5 Experts Respond to 5 Questions about 5 Trends in Compensation & Benefits over the Next 5 Years鈥�
Compensation & Benefits Review, August 2020 (with Phillip Bryant, Duncan Brown, Charles Cotton, Brad Hill & Michael Sturman)
鈥淎 Field Experiment in Motivating Employee Ideas鈥�
Review of Economics & Statistics, November 2017 (with Susanne Neckermann & Christoph Siemroth)
鈥淧ast, Present and Future Compensation Research: Economist Perspectives鈥�
Compensation & Benefits Review, April 2017
鈥淎n Empirical Analysis of Post-Merger Organizational Integration鈥�
Scandinavian Journal of Economics, July 2016 (with Kathryn Ierulli & Valerie Smeets)
鈥淒esign & Implementation of Pay for Performance鈥�
Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics, June 2013
鈥淒esigning Incentive Plans: New Insights from Academic Research鈥�
World at Work Journal, December 2012
鈥淲hy Are Jobs Designed the Way They Are?鈥�
Research in Labor Economics, 2010 (with Alec Levenson & Cindy Zoghi)
鈥淭he Personnel Economics Approach to Public Workforce Research鈥�
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, November 2009
鈥淧erformance Measure Properties and Incentive Plan Design鈥�
Industrial Relations, April 2009 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede & Mark Vargus)
鈥淕lobalization, Superstars, and Reputation: Theory and Evidence from the Wine Industry鈥�
Journal of Wine Economics, Spring 2009 (with Mikel Tapia & Frederic Warzynski)
鈥淒iscussion of 鈥楴onfinancial Performance Measures and Promotion-Based Incentives鈥欌��
Journal of Accounting Research, May 2008
鈥淩eturns to Skills and Personnel Management: U.S. Department of Defense Scientists and Engineers鈥�
Economic Inquiry, April 2006
鈥淭he Benefits of Evaluating Performance Subjectively鈥�
Performance Improvement Journal, 2005 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede, & Mark Vargus)
鈥淒o Formal Salary Systems Really Matter?鈥�
Industrial & Labor Relations Review, October 2004 (with Wallace Hendricks)
鈥淒eterminants and Effects of Subjectivity in Incentives鈥�
The Accounting Review, April 2004 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede, & Mark Vargus)
鈥淭he Economic Approach to Personnel Research鈥�
In The Expansion of Economics, M.E. Sharpe, ed. S. Grossbard-Schechtman, January 2002 (with Alec Levenson)
鈥淚ncentive Compensation in a Corporate Hierarchy鈥�
Journal of Accounting & Economics / Journal of Labor Economics听joint issue, March/May 1995
鈥淭he Internal Economics of the Firm: Evidence from Personnel Data鈥�
Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1994 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
鈥淭he Wage Policy of a Firm鈥�
Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1994 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
鈥淭esting Tournaments? An Appraisal of the Theory and Evidence鈥�
Labor Law Journal, August 1994
鈥淗ierarchies and Compensation: A Case Study鈥�
European Economic Review, 1993 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
For a listing of research publications, please visit the听.
Working Papers
2025 - 2026 Course Schedule
| Number | Course Title | Quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Microeconomics | 2025 (Autumn) | |
| Organizations and Incentives | 2026 (Spring) |
Get Insights from Michael Gibbs in 91吃瓜网 Review
How Much Does a CEO Really Matter?
91吃瓜网’s Michael Gibbs breaks down economic research on leadership and management.
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Does Collaboration Really Produce Better Ideas?
91吃瓜网’s Michael Gibbs talks about his research on social networks and innovation.
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