Publications
Publications
- Forthcoming
- Review of Economics and Statistics
Human Capital and the Managerial Revolution in the United States: Evidence from General Electric
By: Tom Nicholas
Abstract
This paper estimates the returns to human capital accumulation during the first era of mega-firms in the United States by linking employees at General Electric—a canonical enterprise associated with the “visible hand” of managerial hierarchies—to the 1940 census. I find large returns to higher education through seniority in the hierarchy, span of control, earnings, and selection into management training, using the proximity of land-grant colleges and historical universities to birth states for identification. The findings highlight the human capital determinants of the managerial revolution at a prominent firm, driven by earlier public investments in the US education system.
Keywords
Returns To Education; Management Practices; Hierarchies; Management Practices and Processes; Rank and Position; Human Capital; Talent and Talent Management; Business History; United States
Citation
Nicholas, Tom. "Human Capital and the Managerial Revolution in the United States: Evidence from General Electric." Review of Economics and Statistics (forthcoming). (Pre-published online November 29, 2023.)