Starting small
Couple of moderatly interesting papers ended up in the this week’s NBER newsletter:
#1 - Henry Sauermann & Wesley M. Cohen in What Makes Them Tick? Employee Motives and Firm Innovation write: “Overall, intrinsic motives, particularly the desire for intellectual challenge, appear to benefit innovation more than extrinsic motives such as pay.”
While the abstract is lean and I’m not really going on on details, the conclusion seems to be fairly obvious. Most technical people with skill and curiosity are obviously motivated by more than money. Having worked in engineering and technology companies for 20 years I decided I didn’t need to spend the $5 to learn more.
#2 - Douglas Almond & Bhashkar Mazumder in The Effects of Maternal Fasting During Ramadan on Birth and Adult Outcomes describe the deliterious affects of Ramadan fasting on the development of offspring.
Unfairly my first reaction was to question the motivation of the authors. The second was whether, if the research’s accurate, the paper would get any press and then be denounced as culturally insensitive or worse.
Anything here rankle you? Feeling overly perturbed or elated? Leave a comment below. or subscribe to the Sauce Captain feed.
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