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Does personality matter? : the impact of the big five on the migrant and gender wage gaps

Author

Listed:
  • Brenzel, Hanna

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

  • Laible, Marie-Christine

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

Abstract

"We investigate whether the Big Five Personality Dimensions contribute to explaining gender and migrant wage gaps by using a linked employer-employee dataset. We expand the scarce literature concerning personality traits and gender wage gaps in Germany and we provide first evidence for the relationship between the Big Five and the migrant wage gap. Our results reveal that the genders differ in their average personality traits, as do migrants and natives. Further, we find significant associations between the Big Five and wages. The magnitude of this relationship varies across the gender and the migratory status. The results of Oaxaca-Blinder wage decompositions suggest that the Big Five significantly contribute to explaining gender and migrant wage gaps." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Brenzel, Hanna & Laible, Marie-Christine, 2016. "Does personality matter? : the impact of the big five on the migrant and gender wage gaps," IAB-Discussion Paper 201626, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201626
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    File URL: https://doku.iab.de/discussionpapers/2016/dp2616.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Matthias Collischon, 2020. "The Returns to Personality Traits Across the Wage Distribution," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(1), pages 48-79, March.
    2. Kai Ingwersen & Stephan L. Thomsen, 2021. "The immigrant-native wage gap in Germany revisited," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(4), pages 825-854, December.
    3. Ayaita, Adam, 2021. "Labor Market Discrimination and Statistical Differences in Unobserved Characteristics of Applicants," EconStor Preprints 236615, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    4. Bonaccolto-Töpfer, Marina & Briel, Stephanie, 2022. "The gender pay gap revisited: Does machine learning offer new insights?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    5. Melchior Vella, 2024. "The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and earnings: Evidence from a meta‐analysis," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(3), pages 685-712, July.
    6. Ayaita, Adam, 2023. "Ethnic Minority Background and Personality Characteristics: Evidence from a Representative Sample of the Adult Population," EconStor Preprints 251745, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, revised 2023.
    7. Grass, Karen & Weber, Enzo, 2016. "EU 4.0 - Die Debatte zu Digitalisierung und Arbeitsmarkt in Europa," IAB-Discussion Paper 201639, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Brieland, Stephanie & Töpfer, Marina, 2020. "The gender pay gap revisited: Does machine learning offer new insights?," Discussion Papers 111, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    9. repec:iab:iabdpa:201639(en is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; ausländische Arbeitnehmer ; Auswirkungen ; Einkommenseffekte ; Einwanderer ; erwerbstätige Frauen ; erwerbstätige Männer ; geschlechtsspezifische Faktoren ; Inländer ; Lohnunterschied ; Persönlichkeitsmerkmale ; IAB-Datensatz Linked Personnel Panel ; 2011-2012;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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