WFH or RTO?
What the data say about the role of the office in the postpandemic age.
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Biography
Michael Gibbs studies the economics of human resources and organizational design. He is co-author of the leading textbook in the field, Personnel Economics in Practice, which has been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian and Spanish. Gibbs's research has been published in the Journal of Political Economy - Microeconomics, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of Economics and Statistics, Accounting Review, Nature Scientific Reports, and other journals. Professor Gibbs is a Research Fellow of the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA). From 2012-2015, he was Faculty Director of Booth’s Executive MBA program (now the Sokolov Executive MBA Program).
Gibbs received the Notable Contribution to Management Accounting Literature from the American Accounting Association. He has received four Hillel Einhorn Excellence in Teaching Awards.
Gibbs earned an AB, AM and PhD in economics, all from the University of Chicago.
Research Interests
Personnel economics.
Academic Areas
- Microeconomics
Selected Publications
Personnel Economics in Practice Translations: Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bulgarian, Spanish
J. Wiley & Sons (with Edward Lazear).
“Job Design, Learning & Intrinsic Motivation”
Research in Labor Economics, forthcoming
“Employee Innovation During Office Work, Work from Home and Hybrid Work”
Nature Scientific Reports, 2024 (with Christoph Siemroth & Friederike Mengel)
“Work from Home & Productivity: Evidence from Personnel & Analytics Data on IT Professionals”
Journal of Political Economy – Microeconoics, 2023 (with Christoph Siemroth & Friederike Mengel)
“Performance Management: Economics Perspective”
“Response to Performance Management: Psychological Perspective”
Interdisciplinary Foundations for Organizational Science & Application: A Dialogue Between Psychology & Economics, in press. Guzella Grote, et al, ed., Oxford University Press
“Job Design”
Encyclopedia of Labour Studies, 2023. Tor Eriksson ed., Edward Elger Press
“Dodging a Draft: Gary Becker’s Lost Paper on Conscription”
The All-Volunteer Force: Fifty Years of History, 2023. William Taylor ed., University of Kansas Press (with Tim Perri)
“How is New Technology Changing Job Design?”
IZA World of Labor, August 2022 (with Sergei Bazylik; update of 2017 version)
“5 Experts Respond to 5 Questions about 5 Trends in Compensation & Benefits over the Next 5 Years”
Compensation & Benefits Review, August 2020 (with Phillip Bryant, Duncan Brown, Charles Cotton, Brad Hill & Michael Sturman)
“A Field Experiment in Motivating Employee Ideas”
Review of Economics & Statistics, November 2017 (with Susanne Neckermann & Christoph Siemroth)
“Past, Present and Future Compensation Research: Economist Perspectives”
Compensation & Benefits Review, April 2017
“An Empirical Analysis of Post-Merger Organizational Integration”
Scandinavian Journal of Economics, July 2016 (with Kathryn Ierulli & Valerie Smeets)
“Design & Implementation of Pay for Performance”
Oxford Handbook of Managerial Economics, June 2013
“Designing Incentive Plans: New Insights from Academic Research”
World at Work Journal, December 2012
“Why Are Jobs Designed the Way They Are?”
Research in Labor Economics, 2010 (with Alec Levenson & Cindy Zoghi)
“The Personnel Economics Approach to Public Workforce Research”
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, November 2009
“Performance Measure Properties and Incentive Plan Design”
Industrial Relations, April 2009 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede & Mark Vargus)
“Globalization, Superstars, and Reputation: Theory and Evidence from the Wine Industry”
Journal of Wine Economics, Spring 2009 (with Mikel Tapia & Frederic Warzynski)
“Discussion of ‘Nonfinancial Performance Measures and Promotion-Based Incentives’”
Journal of Accounting Research, May 2008
“Returns to Skills and Personnel Management: U.S. Department of Defense Scientists and Engineers”
Economic Inquiry, April 2006
“The Benefits of Evaluating Performance Subjectively”
Performance Improvement Journal, 2005 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede, & Mark Vargus)
“Do Formal Salary Systems Really Matter?”
Industrial & Labor Relations Review, October 2004 (with Wallace Hendricks)
“Determinants and Effects of Subjectivity in Incentives”
The Accounting Review, April 2004 (with Kenneth Merchant, Wim Van der Stede, & Mark Vargus)
“The Economic Approach to Personnel Research”
In The Expansion of Economics, M.E. Sharpe, ed. S. Grossbard-Schechtman, January 2002 (with Alec Levenson)
“Incentive Compensation in a Corporate Hierarchy”
Journal of Accounting & Economics / Journal of Labor Economics joint issue, March/May 1995
“The Internal Economics of the Firm: Evidence from Personnel Data”
Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1994 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
“The Wage Policy of a Firm”
Quarterly Journal of Economics, November 1994 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
“Testing Tournaments? An Appraisal of the Theory and Evidence”
Labor Law Journal, August 1994
“Hierarchies and Compensation: A Case Study”
European Economic Review, 1993 (with George Baker & Bengt Holmstrom)
For a listing of research publications, please visit the university library listing page.
Working Papers
2025 - 2026 Course Schedule
Get Insights from Michael Gibbs in Chicago Booth Review
How Much Does a CEO Really Matter?
Chicago Booth’s Michael Gibbs breaks down economic research on leadership and management.
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Does Collaboration Really Produce Better Ideas?
Chicago Booth’s Michael Gibbs talks about his research on social networks and innovation.
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