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Testosterone is associated with self-employment among Australian men

Author

Listed:
  • Greene, Francis J.
  • Han, Liang
  • Martin, Sean
  • Zhang, Song
  • Wittert, Gary

Abstract

Testosterone has pronounced effects on men's physiological development and smaller, more nuanced, impacts on their economic behavior. In this study of 1199 Australian adult males, we investigate the relationship between the self-employed and their serum testosterone levels. Because prior studies have identified that testosterone is a hormone that is responsive to external factors (e.g. competition, risk-taking), we explicitly control for omitted variable bias and reverse causality by using an instrumental variable approach. We use insulin as our primary instrument to account for endogeneity between testosterone and self-employment. This is because prior research has identified a relationship between insulin and testosterone but not between insulin and self-employment. Our results show that there is a positive association between total testosterone and self-employment. Robustness checks using bioavailable testosterone and another similar instrument (daily alcohol consumption) confirm this positive finding.

Suggested Citation

  • Greene, Francis J. & Han, Liang & Martin, Sean & Zhang, Song & Wittert, Gary, 2014. "Testosterone is associated with self-employment among Australian men," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 13(C), pages 76-84.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:13:y:2014:i:c:p:76-84
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2013.02.003
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    2. Shahriar, Abu Zafar M., 2018. "Gender differences in entrepreneurial propensity: Evidence from matrilineal and patriarchal societies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 762-779.
    3. Fossen, Frank M. & Neyse, Levent & Johannesson, Magnus & Dreber Almenberg, Anna, 2020. "2D:4D and Self-Employment Using SOEP Data: A Replication Study," IZA Discussion Papers 13180, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Candelo, Natalia & Eckel, Catherine, 2018. "The 2D:4D ratio does not always correlate with economic behavior: A field experiment with African-Americans," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 172-181.
    5. Fossen, Frank M. & Neyse, Levent & Johannesson, Magnus & Dreber, Anna, 2022. "2D:4D and Self-Employment: A Preregistered Replication Study in a Large General Population Sample," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 46(1), pages 21-43.
    6. Eibich, Peter & Kanabar, Ricky & Plum, Alexander & Schmied, Julian, 2022. "In and out of unemployment—Labour market transitions and the role of testosterone," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    7. Nicos Nicolaou & Phillip H. Phan & Ute Stephan, 2021. "The Biological Perspective in Entrepreneurship Research," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(1), pages 3-17, January.
    8. Tahseen Anwer Arshi & Asfia Ambrin & Venkoba Rao & Swapnil Morande & Kanwal Gul, 2022. "A Machine Learning Assisted Study Exploring Hormonal Influences on Entrepreneurial Opportunity Behaviour," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 31(3), pages 575-602, November.
    9. Hughes, Amanda & Kumari, Meena, 2019. "Testosterone, risk, and socioeconomic position in British men: Exploring causal directionality," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 129-140.
    10. Nicos Nicolaou & Pankaj C. Patel & Marcus T. Wolfe, 2018. "Testosterone and Tendency to Engage in Self-Employment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(4), pages 1825-1841, April.
    11. Pankaj C. Patel & Marcus T. Wolfe, 2021. "Under Pressure: The Effect of Antioxidants on Health Consequences Related to Oxidative Stress," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(1), pages 211-241, January.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Testosterone; Self-employment; Hormones; Labor markets;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J19 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Other

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