The RFBerlin Applied Economics Seminar series brings leading researchers to Berlin to share their latest work and engage with our community. We are pleased to welcome Christopher Stanton for this session, where he will share his work.
Christopher Stanton is Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School. His research examines how technology is reshaping the organization and management of work, with a focus on digital platforms, remote work, and labor market dynamics. His work has been published in academic journals and public outlet frequently on the future of work. At Harvard, he teaches the MBA elective class“Managing the Future of Work.” Professor Stanton is also an academic affiliate of Cornerstone Research and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Event Topic:
Remote Work Makes Organizations Top-Heavy
Remote work evaluations typically compare the output of workers in the office with those working from home. This comparison holds fixed organizational structures and management overhead. In Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and job ads data from Lightcast, we show that industries and firms with greater exposure to remote work became more management intensive after the onset of COVID-19 in 2020. Managers’ relative earnings also rose, while the advertised skill mix of managers changed little. Our estimates suggest that remote work raised annual management costs per non-managerial worker by $820 in the average firm and by $2,160 in fully remote firms. We rationalize these findings in a model where coordination costs vary with remote work and show that the model can fit changes in managers’ span of control and relative wages.
Event Details:
Date: 25 September 2026
Time: 14:00–15:15
Participation: the seminar is open to the public and targeted to an academic audience.
If you have any questions or need further information, feel free to contact us using the form or email us at [email protected]
