Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/237371 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
ETLA Working Papers No. 86
Publisher: 
The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Using a representative survey combined with register data on long-term labour market outcomes, this paper examines how personality traits predict sorting into public and private sector employment among prime working-age individuals. To gain deeper insights into the dynamic dimensions of the sorting process, we also study the role of personality traits in the decisions to enter or exit public sector work. Our robust results show that public sector workers are more social, while private sector workers exhibit more orderly behaviour. The link between orderliness and sectoral sorting is partly explained by the reduced entry of individuals with high levels of orderliness into public sector employment. High sociability is also financially better rewarded in the public sector, which may implicitly indicate a good fit between this trait and job performance in that sector.
Subjects: 
Personality
Public sector
Private sector
Occupational choice
JEL: 
J23
J45
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.