Overview
Winner of the 1998 Leo Melamed Prize sponsored by theJournal of BusinessContrary to popular opinion, human resources, in general, and personnel, in particular, are well-suited to economic analysis. Edward Lazear, who founded the subfield of personnel economics, provides a quick introduction for economists who have not studied the area. He clearly and engagingly summarizes his and others' work that has taken place during the past fifteen years, including recent advances in the field.
Mainstream economic theory has been considered too abstract to be of much practical use in the hiring, organizing, and motivating of employees, leaving the field of personnel to industrial psychologists and sociologists. In this book Edward Lazear shows that economic analysis can be extended to an important, but traditionally neglected, class of practical problems. He shows that by adding more detail and structure to their theory, economists can make specific predictions and prescriptions for personnel issues that arise in business on a daily basis. Lazear focuses on compensation and its relation to worker motivation, selection, and teamwork. He also discusses job design, job evaluation, institutional arrangements, and directions for future research.
Synopsis
This two-volume set comprises 28 selected articles from such publications as J. of Political Economy, J. of Business, and American Economic Review, among others. Editors Lazear (Hoover Institution) and McNabb (Cardiff U., UK) provide an introduction discussing how in the past 20 years labor economists have shown interest in personnel issues, formerly the domain of industrial sociologists, psychologists, and others in human resource management. The selections begin with theoretical foundations, including an early (1962) paper by Gary S. Becker showing how economic theory can inform understanding of personnel issues. Following are papers on theoretical issues (such as incentives in academics, peer pressure and partnerships, and responsibility in organizations); on job performance and measurement; and on personnel strategy. Indexing is by name, but not subject. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Booknews
Lazear (human resources and economics, Stanford) shows that economic analysis can be extended to personnel issues that arise in business on a daily basis. His focus is on compensation and its relation to worker motivation, selection, and teamwork but he also discusses job design, job evaluation, institutional arrangements, and directions for future research. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)