The Impacts of Task Repetition and Temporal Breaks in Production on Human Capital and Productivity

The productivity of firms has been shown to decline after breaks in production. The literature suggests that one cause of this decline is the depreciation of human capital of individual workers. We examine the productivity of cardiac surgeons and hospitals to determine whether the length of or level of task repetition prior to breaks in production affects the productivity of individuals. We find decreases in surgeon productivity that are directly attributable to the length of the break between surgeries, with little evidence that this effect is mitigated by the level of task repetition prior to the break.