The roles of selection and practice in mitigating negative responses to high-powered incentives

Despite substantial evidence for the effectiveness of monetary incentives, some experiments have shown that high-powered incentives might lead to lower performance than lesser incentives. This study explores whether firms have means to counter these potential negative effects. Building on a standard experimental design identifying the drawbacks of large-stake rewards, it shows that when workers either self-select into the task or have prior practice, high-powered incentives lead to higher average performance than a smaller reward. This effect is driven mainly by selection and practice increasing the share of workers who respond positively to high-powered incentives. These results suggest that firms have natural instruments to deal with the potential adverse effects of high-powered incentives.