Time Allocation and Task Juggling

被引:82
作者
Coviello, Decio [1 ]
Ichino, Andrea [2 ,3 ]
Persico, Nicola [4 ]
机构
[1] HEC Montreal, Inst Appl Econ, Montreal, PQ H3T 2A7, Canada
[2] Univ Bologna, Dipartimento Sci Econ, I-40126 Bologna, Italy
[3] European Univ Inst, Dept Econ, I-50133 Florence, Italy
[4] Northwestern Univ, Kellogg Sch Management, Evanston, IL 60208 USA
关键词
TOWER;
D O I
10.1257/aer.104.2.609
中图分类号
F [经济];
学科分类号
02 ;
摘要
A single worker allocates her time among different projects which are progressively assigned. When the worker works on too many projects at the same time, the output rate decreases and completion time increases according to a law which we derive. We call this phenomenon "task juggling" and argue that it is pervasive in the workplace. We show that task juggling is a strategic substitute of worker effort. We then present a model where task juggling is the result of lobbying by clients, or coworkers, each seeking to get the worker to apply effort to his project ahead of the others'.(JEL J22, M12, M54)
引用
收藏
页码:609 / 623
页数:15
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