%0 Report
        %A Stillman, Steven
%A Velamuri, Malathi
        %T Are Personality Traits Really Fixed and Does It Matter?
        %D 2020
        %8 2020 Jun
        %I Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        %C Bonn
        %7 IZA Discussion Paper
        %N 13342
        %U https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp13342
        %X A nascent but burgeoning literature examines the importance of non-cognitive skills in determining success across many facets of life. The majority of these papers treat these skills as fixed traits for adults. We estimate the impact of a number of life events on the Big Five personality traits and locus of control. A subset of life events have large impacts on these non-cognitive skills, especially on locus of control. For some events, these impacts persist in the medium-run. We then demonstrate that treating personality traits as fixed can lead to biased estimates of their relationship with socioeconomic outcomes.
        %K personality
%K non-cognitive skills
%K life events
%K fixed