About 90% of entrepreneurs in the high-tech and professional service industries were previously employed in the same sector. In this paper, we provide a theory for how aspiring entrepreneurs choose an employer. We contrast 'transparent' employers (or firms) promoting personal accountability and...

Due to a tax law implemented in 1998, Dutch employers can claim an extra tax deduction when they train employees aged 40 years or older. This causes a discontinuity in a firm's cost of training an employee. We exploit this discontinuity to identify two effects: the effect of the tax deduction on...

This paper reports about a randomized field experiment in which first year economics and business students at the University of Amsterdam could earn financial rewards for passing the first year requirements within one year. Participants were assigned to a high, low and zero (control) reward...

We provide a theory for career choices of employees willing to become entrepreneurs and facing credit constraints. We show that they need a sufficient mix of reputation and financial capital. We consider their choice to work for transparent or opaque firms. Transparent firms disclose more...

In our context, a good-reputation manager favors risk when being perceived as good allows to be promoted while risk is observable but not verifiable. Indeed, it renders more difficult the learning process regarding her talent. In turn, this lowers her level of effort since the extent to which...

This study estimates the effect of expanding enrollment possibilities in early eduction on the achievement of young children. To do so it exploits two features of the Dutch schooling system. First, children are allowed to enroll in school on their fourth birthday. Second, children having their...