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2006-12-28T14:58:00.000-05:00

Hey there. Still scrolling all the way down here and looking for new comments? Nice. You're all right with me, kid.

Here, I'll treat you to this sweet email from Brandon H., who has a good insight about performance versus effort in peer effects and actual experience working as a checker. Enjoy:

Quick comment on the hard workers/intangibles/motivation piece. It seems to me, if I read the study correctly, that the peer effect actually depends on performance rather than effort. The study examines the
performance of workers when around those who scan well, not those who try
really hard to scan well. If the study's conclusions are generalizable,
people are inspired by performance and not the effort to produce it.

Two caveats. First, it may be the case that supermarket checking speed is primarily determined by effort and not talent. In my very limited experience as a Wal-Mart checker a few summers ago, that isn't the case: I was well above the store average and didn't really seem to be working harder than anyone else. Second, there is obviously the issue of perception. Whether a person is actually performing well, any peer effect would depend on others thinking that this person is doing so. For example, people who only saw Carlos Beltran's home games last year (and aren't statistically inclined) would see a pretty good offensive player, while one who saw only Beltran's road games would see an offensive superstar. If the Ecksteins and Lo Ducas of the world are perceived as stars by other players, their presence may have a peer effect. Presumably, any perception of these guys as peak performers in the sport would depend on these intangibles, as objective analysis doesn't really justify that view.

Comments on FIRE JOE MORGAN: Peer Effects and Baseball

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