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Psychological traits and the gender gap in full-time employment and wages: Evidence from Germany

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  • Nils Braakmann

    (Institute of Economics, University of Lüneburg)

Abstract

This paper shows that differences in various non-cognitive traits, specifically the “big five”, positive and negative reciprocity, locus of control and risk aversion, contribute to gender inequalities in wages and employment. Using the 2004 and 2005 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel, evidence from regression and decomposition techniques suggests that gender differences in psychological traits are more important for inequalities in wages than in employment. Differences in the “big five”, in particular in agreeableness, conscientiousness and neurocitism matter for both wages and employment. For the latter, the results also show a large effect of differences in external locus of control.

Suggested Citation

  • Nils Braakmann, 2009. "Psychological traits and the gender gap in full-time employment and wages: Evidence from Germany," Working Paper Series in Economics 112, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lue:wpaper:112
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    5. Melissa Osborne & Herbert Gintis & Samuel Bowles, 2001. "The Determinants of Earnings: A Behavioral Approach," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1137-1176, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Thiel, Hendrik & Thomsen, Stephan L., 2013. "Noncognitive skills in economics: Models, measurement, and empirical evidence," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 189-214.
    2. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Tan, Michelle, 2011. "Noncognitive skills, occupational attainment, and relative wages," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 1-13, January.
    3. Flinn, Christopher J. & Todd, Petra E & Zhang, Weilong, 2018. "Personality traits, intra-household allocation and the gender wage gap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 191-220.
    4. Matthias Collischon, 2020. "The Returns to Personality Traits Across the Wage Distribution," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(1), pages 48-79, March.
    5. Viinikainen, Jutta & Kokko, Katja, 2012. "Personality traits and unemployment: Evidence from longitudinal data," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1204-1222.
    6. Flinn, C. & Todd, P. & Zhang, W., 2020. "Personality Traits, Job Search and the Gender Wage Gap," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2053, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    7. Chen, Weiwei & Grove, Wayne A. & Hussey, Andrew, 2017. "The role of confidence and noncognitive skills for post-baccalaureate academic and labor market outcomes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 10-29.
    8. Eileen Trzcinski & Elke Holst, 2011. "A Critique and Reframing of Personality in Labour Market Theory: Locus of Control and Labour Market Outcomes," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 403, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    9. Braakmann Nils, 2013. "What Determines Wage Inequality Among Young German University Graduates?," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 233(2), pages 130-158, April.
    10. Vishal Chandr Jaunky & Bhooshan Ramchurn, 2014. "Consumer behaviour in the scratch card market: a double-hurdle approach," International Gambling Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 96-114, August.
    11. Jutta Viinikainen & Katja Kokko & Lea Pulkkinen & Jaakko Pehkonen, 2010. "Personality and Labour Market Income: Evidence from Longitudinal Data," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(2), pages 201-220, June.
    12. Krause, Annabelle, 2013. "Don’t worry, be happy? Happiness and reemployment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 1-20.
    13. Leonora Risse & Lisa Farrell & Tim R L Fry, 2018. "Personality and pay: do gender gaps in confidence explain gender gaps in wages?," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 70(4), pages 919-949.
    14. Collischon, Matthias, 2016. "Personality, ability, marriage and the gender wage gap: Evidence from Germany," FAU Discussion Papers in Economics 08/2016, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute for Economics.
    15. Judith Offerhaus, 2013. "The Type to Train?: Impacts of Personality Characteristics on Further Training Participation," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 531, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    16. Acosta, Pablo A. & Muller, Noel & Sarzosa, Miguel, 2015. "Beyond Qualifications: Returns to Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills in Colombia," IZA Discussion Papers 9403, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Ksenia V. Rozhkova & Natalya Yemelina & Sergey Yu. Roshchin, 2021. "Can Non-Cognitive Skills Explain The Gender Wage Gap In Russia? An Unconditional Quantile Regression Approach," HSE Working papers WP BRP 252/EC/2021, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    18. Collischon & Matthias, 2018. "Can Personality Traits Explain Glass Ceilings?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 965, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    19. Nordman, Christophe Jalil & Sarr, Leopold & Sharma, Smriti, 2015. "Cognitive, Non-Cognitive Skills and Gender Wage Gaps: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data in Bangladesh," IZA Discussion Papers 9132, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. 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.
    21. 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].
    22. Wayne A. Grove & Andrew Hussey & Michael Jetter, 2011. "The Gender Pay Gap Beyond Human Capital: Heterogeneity in Noncognitive Skills and in Labor Market Tastes," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(4), pages 827-874.
    23. Cédric Gorinas, 2014. "Ethnic identity, majority norms, and the native–immigrant employment gap," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 225-250, January.
    24. Konrad C. Schäfer & Jörg Schwiebert, 2018. "The Impact Of Personality Traits On Wage Growth And The Gender Wage Gap," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 70(1), pages 20-34, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender wage gap; non-cognitive traits; decomposition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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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