Abstract
Although performance pay schemes have been linked to labour market productivity, one unintended consequence, suggested early by Adam Smith, is that performance pay is detrimental to health. Recent research has shown that there is a positive relationship between performance pay and injuries on the job. This article focusses on the consequences of performance pay on health and investigates if there is a link between performance pay and self-reported general health or specific illnesses. Using data from the British Household Panel Survey, this study uses survival analysis to show that being in jobs with a performance pay element increases the likelihood of health deterioration, ceteris paribus.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 824-847 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Oxford Economic Papers |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 29 Sept 2013 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2014 |
Keywords
- performance related pay
- health outcomes
- duration model
Access to Document
- Health & Performance Pay
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Oxford Economic Papers following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Bender, KA & Theodossiou, I 2014, 'The unintended consequences of the rat race: the detrimental effects of performance pay on health' Oxford Economic Papers, vol 66, no. 3, pp. 824-847 is available online at: 10.1093/oep/gpt032