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The Effects of Personality Traits on Wages: A Quantile Regression Approach

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  • Robert Girtz

    (Black Hills State University)

Abstract

Past research suggests that both adolescent self-esteem and locus of control have a positive effect on adult wages. Drawing data from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I refine the empirical relationship between locus of control, self-esteem and wages. Articles discussing these relationships thus far have been mainly limited to OLS and other mean effect models. I extend the analysis of the effects of self-esteem and locus of control on wages by examining the effects of these traits across the wage distribution using a quantile regression framework. I find that the effect of self-esteem varies across the wage distribution. The effect of self-esteem on wages for those in the 60th wage decile and above is approximately 1.5 to 2 times stronger than those in the 30th wage decile and below. These results indicate that self-esteem has a higher effect on wages, at the margin, for those in higher paid occupations. I also find that the effect of locus of control on wages does not vary across the wage distribution and is statistically insignificant at most wage deciles.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Girtz, 2015. "The Effects of Personality Traits on Wages: A Quantile Regression Approach," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(4), pages 2174-2183.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-15-00461
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Linda Kamas & Anne Preston, 2020. "Does Empathy Pay? Evidence on Empathy and Salaries of Recent College Graduates," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 169-188, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    self-esteem; locus of control; personality; human capital; quantile regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J0 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General

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