Brains versus brawn: Ordinal rank effects in job training

This paper analyzes ordinal rank across cognitive and physical ability within an initial job training program. Using a rich administrative dataset and conditional random assignment of trainees to peer groups, we test whether rank effects vary across contemporaneous training and long-term career outcomes. We find cognitive ordinal rank, measured by an individual’s score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT), has a meaningful impact on completing initial training into the U.S. Air Force (USAF). This ranking also affects occupational specialization for trainees that arrive without a preassigned occupation. We also show physical ordinal rank, measured by an individual’s initial fitness score, affects job training performance. Both sets of ranking effects impact behavioral misconduct outcomes and vary by gender. Finally, the interaction between cognitive and physical ordinal ranking has multiplicative effects on a limited set of outcomes.