Moritz Lubczyk, Rockwool Foundation Berlin

What are the productivity effects of hiring underrepresented talent? We investigate this question in the context of World War II, when a shortage of male labor forced US firms to hire female scientists. Using new data on the scientific personnel of US firms, we exploit firm-level variation in exposure to enlistment as an instrument for female hires. Firms exposed to enlistment hired 1.4 times more female scientists during the war. Firms that hired at least 1 female scientist during the war produced 1 additional publication per 11 scientists on average after the war - but no additional patents. Data on the job titles of scientists document significant heterogeneity in the tasks that female scientists performed across firms. Firms that placed women in leadership roles experienced an increase in patenting, while firms that used women as librarians had an increase in publications, but not innovation.  

Co-author: Petra Moser