Plausibly Exogenous [1172] - Whaling (04/18/2023)
LHS Variable
Team performance
RHS Variable
Racial diversity
Source of Exogenous Variation
American offshore whaling industry during the period between 1807 and 1912: the racial composition of the crew was plausibly exogenous because members were recruited (as good as) randomly before the voyage for their specific skills and could not be changed in response to shocks to performance. Targeting a less productive worker based on race could be costly in the absence of a significant wage gap between white and nonwhite crewmen (Craig and Fern, 1992)
- Baggio and Cosgel (2023), “Racial Diversity and Team Performance: Evidence from the American Offshore Whaling Industry”