This paper examines how peer quality impacts early career visibility, productivity, and longterm earnings in team based settings. While high ability peers can generate positive spillovers, they may limit opportunities for less experienced individuals to showcase their skills, limiting visibility and career progression. Using National Basketball Association (NBA) data, where rookies are quasi-randomly assigned to teams, we find that stronger teams provide less playing time. This reduces rookies? experience, performance, and future earnings. A theoretical model identifies reduced exposure as the key mechanism, with broader implications for team based industries where early exposure shapes career paths.

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19 March 2026     Paper Number CEPDP2166

Download PDF - Peer effects and worker visibility in team production: evidence from NBA rookies

This CEP discussion paper is published under the centre's Labour programme.