Report

Estimating the Effect of Personality on Male-Female Earnings

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Mueller, Gerrit
Plug, Erik

Abstract / Description

This paper uses the Five-Factor Model of personality structure as an organizing framework to explore the effects of personality on earnings. Using data from a longitudinal survey of American high school graduates, we find that extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience are rewarded/penalized significantly and differentially across genders. Antagonistic, emotionally stable and open men enjoy substantial earnings advantages over otherwise similar individuals. In case of women, the labor market appears to value conscientiousness and openness to experience. The positive returns to openness are very similar across genders, suggesting that being creative, unconventional and artistic is equally important for men and women working in all types of occupations. Moreover, we find significant gender differences in personality characteristics. Decomposition of personality-based earnings differentials into trait and parameter effects suggests that gender-atypical traits reduce the earnings advantage that individuals would otherwise enjoy under their own-sex wage structure. Overall, we find that the impact of personality on earnings is significant but not large — not trivial either — and comparable to the impact of differences in cognitive ability.

Keyword(s)

Persönlichkeit Einkommen Geschlechtsunterschied Persönlichkeit Einkommen Geschlechtsunterschied personality and wages gender wage gap

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2004

Is part of series

Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1254

Citation

  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Mueller, Gerrit
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Plug, Erik
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-11-17T11:02:33Z
  • Made available on
    2008-06-30
  • Made available on
    2015-12-01T10:32:15Z
  • Made available on
    2022-11-17T11:02:33Z
  • Date of first publication
    2004
  • Abstract / Description
    This paper uses the Five-Factor Model of personality structure as an organizing framework to explore the effects of personality on earnings. Using data from a longitudinal survey of American high school graduates, we find that extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience are rewarded/penalized significantly and differentially across genders. Antagonistic, emotionally stable and open men enjoy substantial earnings advantages over otherwise similar individuals. In case of women, the labor market appears to value conscientiousness and openness to experience. The positive returns to openness are very similar across genders, suggesting that being creative, unconventional and artistic is equally important for men and women working in all types of occupations. Moreover, we find significant gender differences in personality characteristics. Decomposition of personality-based earnings differentials into trait and parameter effects suggests that gender-atypical traits reduce the earnings advantage that individuals would otherwise enjoy under their own-sex wage structure. Overall, we find that the impact of personality on earnings is significant but not large — not trivial either — and comparable to the impact of differences in cognitive ability.
    en
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16746
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1141
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8947
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Is part of
    IZA Discussion Paper Series No. 1254
  • Is part of series
    Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1254
  • Keyword(s)
    Persönlichkeit
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Einkommen
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Geschlechtsunterschied
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Persönlichkeit
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Einkommen
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Geschlechtsunterschied
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    personality and wages
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    gender wage gap
    en
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Estimating the Effect of Personality on Male-Female Earnings
    en
  • DRO type
    report
  • Visible tag(s)
    PsyDok