Replication data for: Was There Really a Hawthorne Effect at the Hawthorne Plant? An Analysis of the Original Illumination Experiments

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Steven D. Levitt; John A. List

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Project Citation:

Levitt, Steven D., and List, John A. Replication data for: Was There Really a Hawthorne Effect at the Hawthorne Plant? An Analysis of the Original Illumination Experiments. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2011. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113776V1

Project Description

Summary: The "Hawthorne effect" draws its name from a landmark set of studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant in the 1920s. The data from the first and most influential of these studies, the "Illumination Experiment," were never formally analyzed and were thought to have been destroyed. Our research has uncovered these data. Existing descriptions of supposedly remarkable data patterns prove to be entirely fictional. We do find more subtle manifestations of possible Hawthorne effects. We also propose a new means of testing for Hawthorne effects based on excess responsiveness to experimenter- induced variations relative to naturally occurring variation. (JEL C90, J24, J28, M12, M54, N32)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      C90 Design of Experiments: General
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      J28 Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
      M12 Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
      M54 Personnel Economics: Labor Management
      N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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V1 [2019-10-12]

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