Paying for Productivity A Look at the Evidence

These five essays resulted from a Brookings Institution conference in March 1989 on alternative systems of employee compensation. They review both the theory and the empirical evidence on how productivity is affected by alternative methods of compensation, including profit sharing, employee stock ownership plans, and piece rate, both in the United States and other industrialized countries. Hashimoto provides an essay on the Japanese experience. Blinder concludes that, while alternative compensation systems may little affect productivity, the process of employee involvement in company decisions may be important. ISBN 0-8157-1000-3; $28.95; ISBN 0-8157-0999-4 (pbk.): $9.95.