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 gapPersistent 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
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dp1254.pdfAdobe PDF - 250.98KBMD5: 71cccc711017e16087adaff8afd607bc
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Mueller, Gerrit
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Plug, Erik
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2022-11-17T11:02:33Z
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Made available on2008-06-30
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Made available on2015-12-01T10:32:15Z
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Made available on2022-11-17T11:02:33Z
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Date of first publication2004
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Abstract / DescriptionThis 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
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Persistent Identifierhttps://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-16746
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/1141
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.8947
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Language of contenteng
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Is part ofIZA Discussion Paper Series No. 1254
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Is part of seriesForschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit/ Institute for the Study of Labor: IZA Discussion Paper Series;1254
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Keyword(s)Persönlichkeitde
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Keyword(s)Einkommende
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Keyword(s)Geschlechtsunterschiedde
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Keyword(s)Persönlichkeitde
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Keyword(s)Einkommende
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Keyword(s)Geschlechtsunterschiedde
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Keyword(s)personality and wagesen
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Keyword(s)gender wage gapen
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleEstimating the Effect of Personality on Male-Female Earningsen
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DRO typereport
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Visible tag(s)PsyDok