Are Online Labor Markets Spot Markets for Tasks?: A Field Experiment on the Behavioral Response to Wage Cuts

In some online labor markets, workers are paid by the task, choose what tasks to work on, and have little or no interaction with their (usually anonymous) buyer/employer. These markets look like true spot markets for tasks rather than markets for employment. Despite appearances, we find via a field experiment that workers act more like parties to an employment contract: workers quickly form wage reference points and react negatively to proposed wage cuts by quitting. However, they can be mollified with “reasonable” justifications for why wages are being cut, highlighting the importance of fairness considerations in their decision making. We find some evidence that “unreasonable” justifications for wage cuts reduce subsequent work quality. We also find that not explicitly presenting the worker with a decision about continuing to work eliminates “quits,” with no apparent reduction in work quality. One interpretation for this finding is that workers have a strong expectation that they are party to a quasi-employment relationship where terms are not changed, and the default behavior is to continue working

Are Online Labor Markets Spot Markets for Tasks?: A Field Experiment on the Behavioral Response to Wage Cuts

In some online labor markets, workers are paid by the task, choose what tasks to work on, and have little or no interaction with their (usually anonymous) buyer/employer. These markets look like true spot markets for tasks rather than markets for employment. Despite appearances, we find via a field experiment that workers act more like parties to an employment contract: workers quickly form wage reference points and react negatively to proposed wage cuts by quitting. However, they can be mollified with “reasonable” justifications for why wages are being cut, highlighting the importance of fairness considerations in their decision making. We find some evidence that “unreasonable” justifications for wage cuts reduce subsequent work quality. We also find that not explicitly presenting the worker with a decision about continuing to work eliminates “quits,” with no apparent reduction in work quality. One interpretation for this finding is that workers have a strong expectation that they are party to a quasi-employment relationship where terms are not changed, and the default behavior is to continue working

Are Online Labor Markets Spot Markets for Tasks?: A Field Experiment on the Behavioral Response to Wage Cuts

In some online labor markets, workers are paid by the task, choose what tasks to work on, and have little or no interaction with their (usually anonymous) buyer/employer. These markets look like true spot markets for tasks rather than markets for employment. Despite appearances, we find via a field experiment that workers act more like parties to an employment contract: workers quickly form wage reference points and react negatively to proposed wage cuts by quitting. However, they can be mollified with “reasonable” justifications for why wages are being cut, highlighting the importance of fairness considerations in their decision making. We find some evidence that “unreasonable” justifications for wage cuts reduce subsequent work quality. We also find that not explicitly presenting the worker with a decision about continuing to work eliminates “quits,” with no apparent reduction in work quality. One interpretation for this finding is that workers have a strong expectation that they are party to a quasi-employment relationship where terms are not changed, and the default behavior is to continue working

Localized Soil Management in Fertilizer Injection Zone to Reduce Nitrate Leaching

Nitrogen fertilization of row crops in humid regions can result in leaching of NO3, which represents an inefficient use of resources and may result in environmental degradation. A localized compaction and doming (LCD) fertilizer injector was developed to alter the physical properties of soil surrounding knife-injected N. Injection by LCD includes smearing macropores below the injection slot, formation of a localized compacted soil layer over the injected N, and formation of a surface dome to cover the compacted soil layer and the fertilizer band. The LCD injector was tested, along with a conventional knife injector (without a covering disk), to evaluate its effect on leaching by determining NO3 and Br tracer redistribution after NO3 fertilizer injection. Chemical distributions were determined by intensive soil sampling to 0.8 m below the soil surface. In a second experiment, corn (Zea mays L.) yield response to both N injectors was evaluated. Four fertilization rates (67, 112, 157, and 202 kg N ha−1 of UAN [urea-ammonium nitrate]) were used to define yield response. During seasons when rainfall was below average, neither NO3 redistribution nor crop yield showed a response to fertilizer injection technique. During a growing season with above-average rainfall, 26 kg ha−1 more NO3 and 25 kg ha−1 more Br remained in the top 0.8 m of soil when LCD.injected. LCD injection increased crop yield approximately 0.48 Mg ha−1 over injection by the conventional knife method during an above-average rainfall season, indicating that one-fifth of the conventional knife-applied N was lost prior to crop uptake during the wet year. These findings suggest that the LCD injector may be effective at reducing leaching losses during growing seasons when rainfall is abundant

New Nitrogen Application/Placement Techniques to Increase Use-Efficiency and Reduce Nitrate Leaching

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is used extensively in corn production in Iowa and the north-central region. In 1997, the 12.2 million acres of corn grown in Iowa received an average of 121lb/acre of N fertilizer; corresponding values for the region were 62.2 million acres and 130 lb/acre (USDA-NASS, 1998). Excess water leaving the root zone from this cropland is needed to replenish surface and groundwater supplies; however, the nitrate-nitrogen (N03-N) this water carries can contaminate both of these resources. Baker et al. ( 197 5), Baker and Johnson ( 1981 ), and others in the region (e.g., Gast et al., 1978; Kladivko et al., 1991) have shown that N03-N in subsurface drainage water from row-crop land usually exceeds 10 mg/L, the drinking water standard, with annual leaching losses averaging over 15 lb/acre. This water, if not intercepted by tile drains, can percolate to groundwater and cause contamination there. Drainage water intercepted by tile drains and short-circuited back to surface waters can cause contamination there. Studies (e.g., Johnson and Baker, 1982 and 1984; Hatfield et al., 1995) have shown that streams and rivers in Iowa, whose flow is often dominated by shallow subsurface drainage, can have sustained high levels ofN03-N in the range of 10 mg/L. In addition to concerns for drinking water quality, N03-N contamination of water in drainage to the Mississippi River from Iowa and the north-central region has been implicated as a possible cause of a hypoxic or dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico (Rabalais et al., 1996). Therefore, improved management of N fertilizer is needed to decrease contamination from this source

Projected Heat-Related Mortality in the U.S. Urban Northeast

Increased heat-related mortality is projected to be among the major impacts of climate change on human health, and the United States urban Northeast region is likely to be particularly vulnerable. In support of regional adaptation planning, quantitative information is needed on potential future health responses at the urban and regional scales. Here, we present future projections of heat-related mortality in Boston, New York and Philadelphia utilizing downscaled next-generation climate models and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) developed in support of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Fifth Assessment Report (AR5). Our analyses reveal that heat-related mortality rates per 100,000 of population during the baseline period between 1985 and 2006 were highest in Philadelphia followed by New York City and Boston. However, projected heat-related mortality rates in the 2020s, 2050s and 2080s were highest in New York City followed by Philadelphia and Boston. This study may be of value in developing strategies for reducing the future impacts of heat and building climate change resilience in the urban Northeast region