Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/58672 
Year of Publication: 
2012
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 6391
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
While large literatures have shown that cognitive ability and schooling increases employment and wages, an emerging literature examines the importance of so-called non-cognitive skills in producing labor market outcomes. However, this smaller literature has not typically used causal methods in estimating the results. One source of heterogeneity that may play an important role in producing both personality and other non-cognitive skills and labor market outcomes is family background, including genetic endowments. This paper is the first to use sibling differences to estimate the effects of personality on employment and wages and is also able to control for many other sources of heterogeneity, including attractiveness, cognitive ability, schooling, occupation, and other factors. Overall, the findings suggest that personality measures are important determinants of labor market outcomes in adulthood and that the results vary considerably by demographic group. The findings also highlight the potential role of extraversion in leading to favorable labor market outcomes, which has not been documented in many other studies.
Subjects: 
personality
wages
sibling fixed effects
JEL: 
J24
J31
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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