IZA Discussion Papers

published in: Elsner, B. and Polachek, S.W. (eds.), Big Data Applications in Labor Economics, Part A (Research in Labor Economics, 52A), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, 2024, 161-211

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16338

Dark versus Light Personality Types and Moral Choice

David L. Dickinson

published in: European Economic Review, 2025, 178, 105092

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16311

What Does Job Applicants' Body Art Signal to Employers?

Stijn Baert, Jolien Herregods, Philippe Sterkens

published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2024, 217, 742 - 755

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16300

The Education-Health Gradient: Revisiting the Role of Socio-Emotional Skills

Mette Gørtz, Miriam Gensowski

published in: Journal of Health Economics, 2024, 97, 102911

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16243

Medical Brain Drain – Assessing the Role of Job Attributes and Individual Traits

Marco Bertoni, Debdeep Chattopadhyay, Yuanyuan Gu

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16224

The Anatomy of Competitiveness

Thomas Buser, Hessel Oosterbeek

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16147

Helping and Antisocial Behavior in the Workplace

Michael Haylock, Patrick Kampkötter, Michael Kosfeld, Ferdinand von Siemens

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16142

Donations and Unpaid Activities

Olaf Hübler

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16125

Using Genes to Explore the Relationship of Cognitive and Non-cognitive Skills with Education and Labor Market Outcomes

Thomas Buser, Rafael Ahlskog, Magnus Johannesson, Philipp Koellinger, Sven Oskarsson

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16083

Employers' Demand for Personality Traits

Vera Brenčič, Andrew McGee

IZA Discussion Paper No. 16027

Accounting For Individual-Specific Reliability of Self-Assessed Measures of Economic Preferences and Personality Traits

Thomas Dohmen, Tomáš Jagelka

published in: Journal of Political Economy Microeconomics, 2024, 23, 399–462

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15985

Do Classical Studies Open Your Mind?

Giorgio Brunello, Piero Esposito, Lorenzo Rocco, Sergio Scicchitano

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15486

Personality Traits, Remote Work and Productivity

Nicolas Gavoille, Mihails Hazans

revised version published in: International Labour Review, 2025, 164 (3), https://doi.org/10.16995/ilr.18853

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15421

Effects of Extending Paid Parental Leave on Children's Socio-Emotional Skills and Well-Being in Adolescence

Mikkel Aagaard Houmark, Cecilie Marie Løchte Jørgensen, Ida Lykke Kristiansen, Miriam Gensowski

publishled in: European Economic Review, 2024, 170, 104880

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15275

Strategic Complexity and the Value of Thinking

David Gill, Victoria L. Prowse

published in: Economic Journal, 2023, 133 (650), 761–786,

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15257

Peers Affect Personality Development

Xiaoyue Shan, Ulf Zölitz

published online in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 28 January 2025

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15137

No Evidence That Siblings' Gender Affects Personality across Nine Countries

Thomas Dudek, Anne Ardila Brenøe, Jan Feld, Julia Rohrer

published in: Psychological Science, 2022, 33 (9), 1574 - 1587

IZA Discussion Paper No. 15012

Fathering Daughters and Personality

Max van Lent

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14971

Working for Nothing: Personality and Time Allocation in the UK

Marina Della Giusta, Sarah Jewell

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14920

The Predictive Power of Self-Control for Life Outcomes

Deborah A. Cobb-Clark, Sarah C. Dahmann, Daniel A. Kamhöfer, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch

published in: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2022, 197, 725-744

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14807

Many Rivers to Cross: Social Identity, Cognition and Labour Mobility in Rural India

Sébastien Michiels, Christophe Jalil Nordman, Suneha Seetahul

published in: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2021, 697(1), 66 - 80

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14669

COVID-19 Spread in Germany from a Regional Perspective

Olaf Hübler

IZA Discussion Paper No. 14118

Personality and Public Sector Employment

Terhi Maczulskij, Jutta Viinikainen

published as 'Personality and public sector employment in Finland' in: Labor, 2024, 38 (1), 122-149

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13894

Big Five Personality Traits and Sex

Uwe Jirjahn, Martha Ottenbacher

revised version published in: Journal of Population Economics, 2023, 36, 549 - 580

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13872

Own Motivation, Peer Motivation, and Educational Success

Jan Bietenbeck

revised version published online as 'Do Motivated Classmates Matter for Educational Success?' in: Economic Journal, 27 June 2024

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13809

Whoever You Want Me to Be: Personality and Incentives

Andrew McGee, Peter McGee

published in: Economic Inquiry, 2024, 64 (3), 1268 - 1291

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13733

Do Recruiters Select Workers with Different Personality Traits for Different Tasks? A Discrete Choice Experiment

Caroline Wehner, Andries de Grip, Harald Pfeifer

published in: Labour Economics, 2022, 78, 102186

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13582

The Role of Beliefs in Long Sickness Absence: Experimental Evidence from a Psychological Intervention

Gabriel Pons Rotger, Michael Rosholm

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13515

Social Identity, Behavior, and Personality: Evidence from India

Utteeyo Dasgupta, Subha Mani, Smriti Sharma, Saurabh Singhal

published in: Journal of Development Studies, 2023, 59 (4), 472 - 489

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13473

Does Sibling Gender Affect Personality Traits?

Bart H.H. Golsteyn, Cécile A. J. Magnée

published in: Economics of Education Review, 2020, 77, 102016

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13378

Inequality in Personality over the Life Cycle

Miriam Gensowski, Mette Gørtz, Stefanie Schurer

published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2021, 184, 46-77

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13342

Are Personality Traits Really Fixed and Does It Matter?

Steven Stillman, Malathi Velamuri

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13322

The Interaction Between Personality and Health Policy: Empirical Evidence from the UK Smoking Bans

Cecily Josten, Grace Lordan

published in: Economics & Human Biology, 2020, 38, 100899

IZA Discussion Paper No. 13303

Are Economists' Preferences Psychologists' Personality Traits? A Structural Approach

Tomáš Jagelka

published in: Journal of Political Economy, 2024, 132 (3), 910–970

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12742

What Makes an Employer?

Marco Caliendo, Frank M. Fossen, Alexander S. Kritikos

revised version published as 'Personality characteristics and the decision to hire' in: Industrial and Corporate Change, 2022, 31 (3), 736-761

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12597

Personal Attitudes, Job Characteristics and Health

Lutz Bellmann, Olaf Hübler

published as 'Personality traits, working conditions and health: an empirical analysis based on the German Linked Personnel Panel, 2013 - 2017 ' in: Review of Managerial Science, 2022, 16, 283 - 318

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12488

Self-Control: Determinants, Life Outcomes and Intergenerational Implications

Deborah A. Cobb-Clark, Sarah C. Dahmann, Daniel A. Kamhöfer, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch

updated version published as 'The Predictive Power of Self-Control for Life Outcomes' in: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2022, 197, 725-744

IZA Discussion Paper No. 12444

Personality Traits, Migration Intentions, and Cultural Distance

Didier Fouarge, Merve Nezihe Özer, Philipp K. Seegers

published in: Papers in Regional Science, 98(6), 2425-2454.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11881

Personality Traits and Household Consumption Choices

Lucia Mangiavacchi, Luca Piccoli, Chiara Rapallini

published in: B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy 2021, 21 (2), 433-468

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11880

Prediction Based on Entrepreneurship-Prone Personality Profiles: Sometimes Worse Than the Toss of a Coin

Alexander Konon, Alexander S. Kritikos

published in: Small Business Economics, 2019, 53 (1), 1-20

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11756

Behind Every High Earning Man Is a Conscientious Woman: A Study of the Impact of Spousal Personality on Wages

Susan L. Averett, Cynthia Bansak, Julie K. Smith

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11578

Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills, Hiring Channels, and Wages in Bangladesh

Anne Hilger, Christophe Jalil Nordman, Leopold Sarr

published as 'Which Skills Matter for What Type of Worker? Cognitive Skills, Personality Traits, Hiring Channels, and Wages in Bangladesh', in: Indian Journal of Human Development, 2022, 16 (2), 219-247.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11566

The Effect of Religiosity on Adolescent Risky Behaviors

Silvia Mendolia, Alfredo R. Paloyo, Ian Walker

published in as 'Intrinsic Religiosity, Personality Traits, and Adolescent Risky Behaviors' in: B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2019, 19 (3), 1-16

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11449

Survey Item-Response Behavior as an Imperfect Proxy for Unobserved Ability: Theory and Application

Sonja C. de New, Stefanie Schurer

published in: Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 2023, 41 (1), 197-212

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11414

Is Personality Endogenous? Evidence from Ireland

Irene Mosca, Robert E. Wright

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11213

Socioemotional Skills, Education, and Health-Related Outcomes of High-Ability Individuals

Peter A. Savelyev, Kegon T.K. Tan

published in: American Journal of Health Economics, 2019, 5 (2), 250–280

IZA Discussion Paper No. 11044

Gender Differences in the Development of Other-Regarding Preferences

Katrin John, Stephan L. Thomsen

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10701

Cognitive, Socioemotional and Behavioral Returns to College Quality

Utteeyo Dasgupta, Subha Mani, Smriti Sharma, Saurabh Singhal

published as 'Effects of Peers and Rank on Cognition, Preferences, and Personality' in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 2022, 104 (3), 587 - 601

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10672

Occupation and Gender

Patricia Cortes, Jessica Pan

published in: Susan L. Averett, Laura M. Argys and Saul D. Hoffman (eds.), Oxford Handbook on the Economics of Women, 2018

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10563

Does Birth Spacing Affect Personality?

Bart H.H. Golsteyn, Cécile A. J. Magnée

published in: Journal of Economic Psychology, 2017, 60, 92-108

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10562

Challenges in Research on Preferences and Personality Traits: Measurement, Stability, and Inference

Bart H.H. Golsteyn, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch

published in: Journal of Economic Psychology, 2017, 60, 1-6.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10561

Involuntary Job Loss and Changes in Personality Traits

Silke Anger, Georg Camehl, Frauke Peter

published in: Journal of Economic Psychology, 2017, 60, 71-91,

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10560

Born to Lead? The Effect of Birth Order on Non-Cognitive Abilities

Sandra E. Black, Erik Grönqvist, Björn Öckert

published in: Review of Economics and Statistics, 2018, 100 (2), 274 - 286

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10538

Origins of Adulthood Personality: The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences

Jason M. Fletcher, Stefanie Schurer

published in: B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2017, 17(2), 20150212

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10518

Using Response Times to Measure Strategic Complexity and the Value of Thinking in Games

David Gill, Victoria L. Prowse

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10407

Locus of Control and Investment in Risky Assets

Nicolás Salamanca, Andries de Grip, Didier Fouarge, Raymond Montizaan

revised version published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2020, 177, 548-568

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10397

On the Interpretation of Non-Cognitive Skills: What Is Being Measured and Why It Matters

John Eric Humphries, Fabian Kosse

published in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2017,136,174 - 185

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10359

Labor Outcomes during the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood: The Role of Personality, Cognition, and Shocks in Madagascar

David E. Sahn, Kira M. Villa

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10356

What Grades and Achievement Tests Measure

Lex Borghans, Bart H.H. Golsteyn, James J. Heckman, John Eric Humphries

published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), 2016, 113 (47), 13354-13359

IZA Discussion Paper No. 10337

Personality and Mental Health: The Role and Substitution Effect of Emotional Stability and Conscientiousness

Caroline Wehner, Trudie Schils, Lex Borghans

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9805

Born Entrepreneur? Adolescents' Personality Characteristics and Self-Employment in Adulthood

Jutta Viinikainen, Guido Heineck, Petri Böckerman, Mirka Hintsanen, Olli Raitakari, Jaakko Pehkonen

published in: Journal of Business Venturing Insights, 2017, 8, 9-12

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9768

Homo Moralis: Personal Characteristics, Institutions, and Moral Decision-Making

Thomas Deckers, Armin Falk, Fabian Kosse, Nora Szech

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9768

Homo Moralis: Personal Characteristics, Institutions, and Moral Decision-Making

Thomas Deckers, Armin Falk, Fabian Kosse, Nora Szech

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9765

Eliciting Risk Preferences: Firefighting in the Field

Utteeyo Dasgupta, Subha Mani, Smriti Sharma, Saurabh Singhal

published as 'Internal and external validity: Comparing two simple risk elicitation tasks' in: Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 2019, 81, 39 - 46

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9628

Personality Traits and the Evaluation of Start-Up Subsidies

Marco Caliendo, Steffen Künn, Martin Weißenberger

published in: European Economic Review, 2016, 86, 87-108

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9584

Do They Find You on Facebook? Facebook Profile Picture and Hiring Chances

Stijn Baert

revised version published as 'Facebook profile picture appearance affects recruiterd first hiring decisions' in: New Media & Society, 2018, 20 (3), 1220 - 1239

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9403

Beyond Qualifications: Returns to Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Skills in Colombia

Pablo A. Acosta, Noel Muller, Miguel Sarzosa

published as 'Adults' Cognitive and Socioemotional Skills and Their Labor Market Outcomes in Colombia' in: Revista de Economia del Rosario, 2020, 23 (1), 109-148.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9334

Individual Poverty Paths and the Stability of Control-Perception

Hendrik Thiel, Stephan L. Thomsen

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9318

Charitable Behaviour and the Big Five Personality Traits: Evidence from UK Panel Data

Sarah Brown, Karl Taylor

IZA Discussion Paper No. 9132

Cognitive, Non-Cognitive Skills and Gender Wage Gaps: Evidence from Linked Employer-Employee Data in Bangladesh

Christophe Jalil Nordman, Leopold Sarr, Smriti Sharma

published as 'Skills, Personality Traits and Gender Wage Gaps: Evidence from Bangladesh' in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2019, 71(3), 687-708

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8977

How Does Socio-Economic Status Shape a Child's Personality?

Thomas Deckers, Armin Falk, Fabian Kosse, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8873

Do Universities Shape Their Students' Personality?

Stefanie Schurer, Sonja C. de New, Felix Leung

published as 'University education and non-cognitive skill development' in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2018, 70(2), 538–562

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8873

Do Universities Shape Their Students' Personality?

Stefanie Schurer, Sonja C. de New, Felix Leung

published as 'University education and non-cognitive skill development' in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2018, 70(2), 538–562

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8837

Life Satisfaction, Income and Personality

Eugenio Proto, Aldo Rustichini

published in: Journal of Economic Psychology, 2015, 48, 17-32

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8740

Do NEETs Need Grit?

Silvia Mendolia, Ian Walker

published in: IZA Journal of Labor Economics, 2015, 4:19

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8712

The Effect of Family Disruption on Children's Personality Development: Evidence from British Longitudinal Data

Tyas Prevoo, Bas ter Weel

published in: De Economist, 2015, 163 (1), 61-93

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8337

Unobservable, but Unimportant? The Influence of Personality Traits (and Other Usually Unobserved Variables) for the Evaluation of Labor Market Policies

Marco Caliendo, Robert Mahlstedt, Oscar A. Mitnik

substantially revised version published in: Labour Economics, 2017, 46, 14-25.

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8308

Do Personality Traits Affect Productivity? Evidence from the Lab

Maria Cubel, Ana Nuevo-Chiquero, Santiago Sanchez-Pages, Marian Vidal-Fernandez

published in: Economic Journal , 2016, 126 (592). 654–681

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8269

The Effect of Personality Traits on Subject Choice and Performance in High School: Evidence from an English Cohort

Silvia Mendolia, Ian Walker

published in: Economics of Education Review, 2014, 43 , 47-65

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8239

Intrinsic Motivations of Public Sector Employees: Evidence for Germany

Robert Dur, Robin Zoutenbier

published in: German Economic Review, 2015, 16(3), 343-366

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8236

Cognitive Ability, Character Skills, and Learning to Play Equilibrium: A Level-k Analysis

David Gill, Victoria L. Prowse

published in: Journal of Political Economy, 2016, 124 (6), 1619-1676

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8235

Personality, IQ, and Lifetime Earnings

Miriam Gensowski

published in: Labour Economics, 2018, 51, 170-183

IZA Discussion Paper No. 8201

Gender Gaps in Primary School Achievement: A Decomposition into Endowments and Returns to IQ and Non-cognitive Factors

Bart H.H. Golsteyn, Trudie Schils

published in: Economics of Education Review, 2014, 41, 176-187

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7894

The Individual and Joint Performance of Economic Preferences, Personality, and Self-Control in Predicting Criminal Behavior

Tim Friehe, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch

published as 'Predicting norm enforcement: the individual and joint predictive power of economic preferences, personality, and self-control' in: European Journal of Law and Economics, 2018, 45, 127 - 146

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7847

Better Sexy than Flexy? A Lab Experiment Assessing the Impact of Perceived Attractiveness and Personality Traits on Hiring Decisions

Stijn Baert, Lynn Decuypere

revised version published in: Applied Economics Letters , 2014, 21 (9), 597 - 601

IZA Discussion Paper No. 7537

The Importance of Early Conscientiousness for Socio-Economic Outcomes: Evidence from the British Cohort Study

Tyas Prevoo, Bas ter Weel

published in: Oxford Economic Papers, 2015, 67 (4), 918-948

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