Sexual harassment, a widespread problem in the workplace, arguably keeps female employees from optimally employing their human capital. We show that removing or diminishing this friction improves productivity. Specifically, using the male-dominated fund industry as our testing ground, we show that productivity of female mutual fund managers significantly increased after the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the onset of the #MeToo movement. Evidence from lawsuits and organizational changes at several fund companies also suggests that reducing the threat of sexual harassment improves productivity. Our results have important implications for the policy debate on workforce diversity and costs of sexual harassment.

This paper examines how labor mobility restrictions such as non-compete clauses in employment contracts affect the incentives and resulting behavior of employees. Using the investment industry as a testing laboratory, we find that mutual fund managers respond to heightened career concerns due to increased enforceability of non-compete clauses by increasing effort, reducing downside risk, engaging less in tournaments, making their portfolios similar to the portfolios of their benchmarks or peers, and increasing window-dressing. These concerns are, however, moderated by the presence of more developed internal labor markets, which allow managers to substitute restricted across-family mobility with within-family mobility.

This paper examines how labor mobility restrictions such as non-compete clauses in employment contracts affect the incentives and resulting behavior of employees. Using the investment industry as a testing laboratory, we find that mutual fund managers respond to heightened career concerns due to increased enforceability of non-compete clauses by increasing effort, reducing downside risk, engaging less in tournaments, making their portfolios similar to the portfolios of their benchmarks or peers, and increasing window-dressing. These concerns are, however, moderated by the presence of more developed internal labor markets, which allow managers to substitute restricted across-family mobility with within-family mobility.

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