Job Market Paper

Fast Track Positions and Human Capital Acquisition

Some positions within a firm consistently lead to promotion with a higher probability than other positions at the same hierarchical level. Therefore, serial correlation of promotion rates is not indicative merely of fast individuals with high innate ability but of fast tracks within the organization. I describe these positions as fast track jobs and present a model in which they involve the acquisition of human capital more valuable at the next level. Data from a financial services firm confirms that workers in fast track jobs are younger than other workers in the same level and that transfers out of the fast track to the slow track are common. Thus, the process of grooming workers for advancement is analogous to more aggressive up-or-out systems. There is some evidence that fast track effects are not the result of signaling or of accelerated learning about the worker's innate ability.

Research Interests

Primary: Personnel Economics

Secondary: Industrial Organization, Asset Pricing