We provide the first joint evidence on the relationship between individuals' cognitive abilities, their personality and earnings for Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we employ scores from an ultra-short IQ-test and a set of measures of personality traits, namely locus of control, reciprocity and all basic items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Our estimates suggest a positive effect of so-called fluid intelligence or speed of cognition on males' wages only. Findings for personality traits are more heterogeneous. However, there is a robust wage penalty for an external locus of control for both men and women.
%0 Journal Article
%1 heineck2010returns
%A Heineck, Guido
%A Anger, Silke
%D 2010
%I Elsevier BV
%J Labour Economics
%K socdes
%N 3
%P 535-546
%R 10.1016/j.labeco.2009.06.001
%T The returns to cognitive abilities and personality traits in Germany
%U http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537109000670
%V 17
%X We provide the first joint evidence on the relationship between individuals' cognitive abilities, their personality and earnings for Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we employ scores from an ultra-short IQ-test and a set of measures of personality traits, namely locus of control, reciprocity and all basic items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Our estimates suggest a positive effect of so-called fluid intelligence or speed of cognition on males' wages only. Findings for personality traits are more heterogeneous. However, there is a robust wage penalty for an external locus of control for both men and women.
@article{heineck2010returns,
abstract = {We provide the first joint evidence on the relationship between individuals' cognitive abilities, their personality and earnings for Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we employ scores from an ultra-short IQ-test and a set of measures of personality traits, namely locus of control, reciprocity and all basic items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Our estimates suggest a positive effect of so-called fluid intelligence or speed of cognition on males' wages only. Findings for personality traits are more heterogeneous. However, there is a robust wage penalty for an external locus of control for both men and women.},
added-at = {2018-09-24T14:15:50.000+0200},
author = {Heineck, Guido and Anger, Silke},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/212318f8191ddbdd44350ba7d863f88c8/dirtyhawk},
doi = {10.1016/j.labeco.2009.06.001},
interhash = {0b8a2336128024149c6eed6493f92fed},
intrahash = {12318f8191ddbdd44350ba7d863f88c8},
issn = {0927-5371},
journal = {Labour Economics},
keywords = {socdes},
number = 3,
pages = {535-546},
publisher = {Elsevier {BV}},
timestamp = {2018-11-02T12:00:07.000+0100},
title = {The returns to cognitive abilities and personality traits in {G}ermany},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537109000670},
urldate = {2018-09-24},
volume = 17,
year = 2010
}