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Jorge Tamayo

Jorge Tamayo

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

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Jorge Tamayo is an assistant professor of business administration in the Strategy Unit. He teaches the Strategy course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Tamayo is an applied microeconomist primarily interested in industrial organization and development economics. His research focuses on theoretical modeling and structural estimation of firm decision-making and productivity. Professor Tamayo examines the market responses to settings in which firms use price discrimination (i.e. subscriptions, or membership fees) for goods and services. His research also focuses on the ways in which managers contribute to the productivity dynamics of their teams.

Professor Tamayo earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Southern California. He has a B.A. in economics and an M.S. in applied mathematics from Eafit University in Medellin, Colombia. Before pursuing his doctoral degree, he worked at the Central Bank of Colombia and as an adjunct professor in the department of economics at Eafit University.

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Jorge Tamayo
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Strategy
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Publications Research Summary
Overview
Professor Tamayo’s research focuses on theoretical modeling and structural estimation of firm decision-making and productivity.

Professor Tamayo studies dynamic competition for customer membership. Generally, firms that implement a membership model charge a ‘membership’ fee that allows consumers to buy products/services at a unit price, in multiple periods. He looks into the price discrimination that these firms such as Amazon and DirecTV employ between new and old customers. In his research, Professor Tamayo explores how the length of the membership, the ability to price discriminate between ‘old’ and ‘new’ customers with the membership fee and unit price, and the incentives to price discriminate, all affect competition.

Professor Tamayo also researches the functioning of firms, in particular, causes of low or high labor productivity, and how firms and managers can overcome these issues. He examines how the quality of managers contributes to the productivity dynamics of the teams they manage. Using two years of daily, line-level production data from six garment factories in India, he measured contributions of seven distinct dimensions of managerial quality: tenure, cognitive skills, autonomy, personality psychometrics, control, attention, and ‘relatability’ to workers. He finds that several key dimensions of managerial quality, such as attention, autonomy, and control, are important for productivity but are not appropriately priced into market wages. Counterfactual simulations provide clear guidance on hiring and training policies. That is, firms could substantially improve productivity via psychometric measurement and screening of potential hires, and by training supervisors in attention and control.
Keywords: Industrial Organization, Industrial Development; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Energy Generation; Performance Efficiency; Market Design; Crime and Corruption; Manufacturing Industry; Energy Industry

Jorge Tamayo is an assistant professor of business administration in the Strategy Unit. He teaches the Strategy course in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Tamayo is an applied microeconomist primarily interested in industrial organization and development economics. His research focuses on theoretical modeling and structural estimation of firm decision-making and productivity. Professor Tamayo examines the market responses to settings in which firms use price discrimination (i.e. subscriptions, or membership fees) for goods and services. His research also focuses on the ways in which managers contribute to the productivity dynamics of their teams.

Professor Tamayo earned his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Southern California. He has a B.A. in economics and an M.S. in applied mathematics from Eafit University in Medellin, Colombia. Before pursuing his doctoral degree, he worked at the Central Bank of Colombia and as an adjunct professor in the department of economics at Eafit University.

Publications on Industrial Development
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "Managerial Quality and Productivity Dynamics." Review of Economic Studies (forthcoming). View Details
  • Khanna, Gaurav, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadham, Christian Posso, and Jorge Tamayo. "Job Loss, Credit and Crime in Colombia." American Economic Review: Insights 3, no. 1 (March 2021): 97–114. View Details
Working Papers - Industrial Development
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "An Anatomy of Performance Monitoring." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-066, March 2022. View Details
  • Guarin, Arlen, Christian Posso, Estefania Saravia, and Jorge Tamayo. "The Luck of the Draw: The Causal Effect of Physicians on Birth Outcomes." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-015, February 2021. (Revised November 2021.) View Details
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Emilio Gutierrez, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "Diagnosing Quality: Learning, Amenities, and the Demand for Health Care." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-110, March 2021. View Details
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Jean-François Gauthier, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "Absenteeism, Productivity, and Relational Contracts Inside the Firm." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-109, March 2021. View Details
  • Khanna, Gaurav, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadham, Christian Posso, and Jorge Tamayo. "Job Loss, Credit and Crime in Colombia." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-104, April 2020. View Details
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-103, March 2020. View Details
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "Managerial Quality and Productivity Dynamics." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-100, March 2019. View Details
  • Khanna, Gaurav, Carlos Medina, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "Formal Employment and Organized Crime: Regression Discontinuity Evidence from Colombia." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-099, March 2019. View Details
  • Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Anant Nyshadham, Theresa Molina, and Jorge Tamayo. "Helping Children Catch Up: Early Life Shocks and the Progresa Experiment." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 24848, July 2018. View Details
Working Papers - Competitive Price Discrimination
  • Fioretti, Michele, and Jorge Tamayo. "Saving for a Dry Day: Coal, Dams, and the Energy Transition." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-016, August 2021. View Details
  • Chica, Cristian, Kenneth Chuk, and Jorge Tamayo. "Exclusive Dealing and Entry by Competing Two-Sided Platforms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-092, March 2021. View Details
  • Chica, Cristian, and Jorge Tamayo. "Dynamic Competition for Customer Memberships." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-091, March 2021. View Details
  • Tamayo, Jorge, and Guofu Tan. "Competitive Two-Part Tariffs." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-089, March 2021. View Details
Cases and Teaching Materials
  • Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (A)." Harvard Business School Case 721-394, January 2021. View Details
  • Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-412, January 2021. (Revised March 2021.) View Details
  • Tamayo, Jorge, Erik Snowberg, and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago. "Toyota and Its Labor Union in Argentina (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 721-413, March 2021. View Details
Book Chapters
  • Medina, Carlos, and Jorge Tamayo. "An Assessment of How Urban Crime and Victimization Affects Life Satisfaction." In Subjective Well-Being and Security. No. 46, edited by Dave Webb and Eduardo Wills-Herrera, 91–147. Social Indicators Research Series. Dordrecht ; New York: Springer, 2012. View Details
Research Summary
Overview
Professor Tamayo’s research focuses on theoretical modeling and structural estimation of firm decision-making and productivity.

Professor Tamayo studies dynamic competition for customer membership. Generally, firms that implement a membership model charge a ‘membership’ fee that allows consumers to buy products/services at a unit price, in multiple periods. He looks into the price discrimination that these firms such as Amazon and DirecTV employ between new and old customers. In his research, Professor Tamayo explores how the length of the membership, the ability to price discriminate between ‘old’ and ‘new’ customers with the membership fee and unit price, and the incentives to price discriminate, all affect competition.

Professor Tamayo also researches the functioning of firms, in particular, causes of low or high labor productivity, and how firms and managers can overcome these issues. He examines how the quality of managers contributes to the productivity dynamics of the teams they manage. Using two years of daily, line-level production data from six garment factories in India, he measured contributions of seven distinct dimensions of managerial quality: tenure, cognitive skills, autonomy, personality psychometrics, control, attention, and ‘relatability’ to workers. He finds that several key dimensions of managerial quality, such as attention, autonomy, and control, are important for productivity but are not appropriately priced into market wages. Counterfactual simulations provide clear guidance on hiring and training policies. That is, firms could substantially improve productivity via psychometric measurement and screening of potential hires, and by training supervisors in attention and control.
Keywords: Industrial Organization, Industrial Development; Management Practices and Processes; Management Skills; Management Style; Energy Generation; Performance Efficiency; Market Design; Crime and Corruption; Manufacturing Industry; Energy Industry
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