Asymmetric employer information, promotions, and the wage policy of firms

This paper provides evidence that inefficient promotion strategies and large wage increases upon promotion may both arise as a consequence of asymmetric employer information. Building on the seminal work by Waldman (1984a) and Milgrom and Oster (1987), we first present a model that illustrates how both phenomena may jointly arise due to the information revealing character of promotions. Using experimental labor markets, we find evidence consistent with asymmetric employer information being a causal factor for both inefficient promotions and large wage increases upon promotion. Furthermore, we analyze the effect of asymmetric employer information on profits and turnover.