Fafchamps_Moradi_job_referral.pdf (398.14 kB)
Download fileReferral and job performance: evidence from the Ghana colonial army
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 11:53 authored by Marcel Fafchamps, Alexander MoradiUsing data compiled from army archives, we test whether the referral system in use in the British colonial army in Ghana served to improve the unobserved quality of new recruits. We find that it did not. If anything, referred recruits were more likely to desert and be dismissed as inefficient or unfit. We find instead evidence of referee opportunism. Army recruiters may have been aware of this problem by insisting that referred recruits have better observed characteristics.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Economic Development and Cultural ChangeISSN
0013-0079Publisher
University of Chicago PressExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
63Page range
715-751Department affiliated with
- Business and Management Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes