Hostel takeover: Living conditions, reference dependence, and the well-being of migrant workers

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Adhvaryu, Achyuta; Nyshadham, Anant; Xu, Huayu
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California San Diego; National Bureau of Economic Research; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Peking University; Peking University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2023.104949
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: Worker satisfaction; Amenities; reference dependence; Personnel management; Migrant workers; Dormitories; INDIA

摘要

We report impacts of a randomized housing quality improvement intervention among Indian migrant workers. Despite modest improvements in conditions, respondents experienced a decline in satisfaction and a large in-crease in psychological distress as a result of treatment. In contrast, residents who faced the same treatment -induced variation in living conditions as the original sample, but who arrived after treatment had already been initiated, had increased satisfaction. Impacts on turnover echo these patterns. We interpret this as evidence of reference dependence: residents who were primed to expect larger-than-realized improvements in living conditions suffered utility losses, while exposed but unprimed residents experienced gains.