Gender Differences in Personality and Earnings: Evidence from Russia
42 Pages Posted: 25 May 2006
Date Written: April 2005
Abstract
Does personality affect earnings? If so, are there gender differences in personality that explain part of the gender wage gap? We use survey data collected from over 2,600 Russian employees between 2000 and 2003 to evaluate the impact on earnings of two personality traits: locus of control (Rotter 1966) and challenge-affiliation (Hill et al. 1985). We find that gender differences in personality traits are significant. Men are more likely to exhibit an internal locus of control and need for challenge, while women are more likely to exhibit an external locus of control and need for affiliation. Moreover, there are differences in the effect of personality on earnings by gender - women's earnings are affected by personality, while men's earnings are not. Among participating employees in our study, the "unexplained" portion of the gender wage gap falls by as much as 12% when personality traits are included.
Keywords: Personality; Locus of control; Earnings; Gender wage gap; Russias
JEL Classification: P23, J31, J71
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
The Effects of Cognitive and Noncognitive Abilities on Labor Market Outcomes and Social Behavior
By James J. Heckman, Jora Stixrud, ...
-
The Technology of Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman
-
The Technology of Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman
-
Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Interpreting the Evidence on Life Cycle Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation
By Flavio Cunha, James J. Heckman, ...
-
The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
By Lex Borghans, Angela Duckworth, ...
-
The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits
By Lex Borghans, Angela Duckworth, ...