6533b7defe1ef96bd127654c
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Personality and the gender wage gap
Ellen Katrine NyhusEmpar Ponssubject
AgreeablenessEconomics and EconometricsLabour economicsmedia_common.quotation_subjectAlternative five model of personalityConscientiousnessBig Five personality traits and cultureHierarchical structure of the Big FiveEconomicsOpenness to experiencePersonalityBig Five personality traitsSocial psychologyhealth care economics and organizationsmedia_commondescription
In this study, we investigate whether personality traits contribute towards a better understanding of the reasons for the gender wage gap. We explore whether two of the personality factors put forward by Bowles et al. (2001) as likely to be incentive enhancing in the employer–employee relationship can explain the difference in wages for women and men. These are (1) personal self efficacy (Locus of Control (LoC)) and (2) time preference. We also study the role of the so called Big Five personality traits (extraversion, emotional stability, agreeableness, openness intellect and conscientiousness), which have been associated with earnings in several recent studies. Using a sample of Dutch employees, we found that 11.5% of the observed gender wage gap could be ascribed to differences in the personality trait scores (mainly in agreeableness and intellect), while less than 0.5% could be ascribed to gender differences in the returns to the traits. The addition of personality traits to a traditional human capital...
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-01-01 | Applied Economics |