We would like to invite you to participate in Management Engineering (ME) Seminar.

1. When: November 15th (Thursday), 10:30 ~ 11:45
2. Where: Korea University, Woodang Hall #314
3. Speaker: Ivan Png (Distinguished Professor, NUS Business School and Department of Economics, National University of Singapore)
4. Topic: Cashiers Prefer Cashless Payment: Evidence on the Cost of Stress
5. Research field: Managerial Economics
* Lecture will be delivered in English.

Abstract:
In 2016/17, 526,000 British workers suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, resulting in the loss of 12.5 million working days. Yet, people voluntarily enter and continue in occupations that impose stress. Presumably, they are compensated for occupational stress. Here, we address two research questions: (1) How much is the compensating wage differential? (2) How does the differential vary according to individual characteristics?
Study A exploits variation in payment in cash for retail purchases across countries and over time to study the effect on cashier wages. Empirically, where the cash proportion of retail transactions is higher, the wages of cashiers are higher relative to a control group of similarly-skilled occupations. To account for possible endogeneity, the analysis uses fear of inflation as an instrument for use of cash.
Study B is a discrete choice experiment in which cashiers are asked to choose between receiving payment in cash vis-à-vis by card with different monthly wages. We estimate the compensating wage differential for the median worker to be S$25, which is 1 percent of the monthly wage. The differential is higher for workers who are more risk-averse.
Study C will be a laboratory experiment to distinguish two psychological costs that cashiers incur when handling cash: (i) cognitive load of counting, and (ii) stress due to mistakes and being penalized. Participants take part in a series of cashier tasks, varying in whether their earnings are deducted for giving away excess change. While the tasks always require cognitive effort, only some impose stress for mistakes. We measure stress level by heart rate variability (HRV), which is monitored using an electrocardiogram (ECG) heart rate device attached to the participants’ chest throughout the experiment.