Labor Drops: Experimental Evidence on the Return to Additional Labor in Microenterprises
在斯里兰卡对微型企业进行随机实验，提供工资补贴以检验雇佣额外劳动力是否对企业有益，以及短期补贴能否持久影响就业。结果发现补贴期间就业增加，但无长期影响，也未提升利润或销售额。
A field experiment in Sri Lanka provided wage subsidies to randomly chosen microenterprises to test whether hiring additional labor benefits such firms and whether a short-term subsidy can have a lasting impact on firm employment. Using 12 rounds of surveys to track dynamics 4 years after treatment, we find that firms increased employment during the subsidy period. Treated firms were more likely to survive, but there was no lasting impact on employment and no effect on profitability or sales either during or after the subsidy period. There is some heterogeneity in effects; the subsidies have a more durable effect on manufacturers.