February 2008

IZA DP No. 3333: The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits

published in: Journal of Human Resources, 2008, 43 (4), 972-1059

This paper explores the interface between personality psychology and economics. We examine the predictive power of personality and the stability of personality traits over the life cycle. We develop simple analytical frameworks for interpreting the evidence in personality psychology and suggest promising avenues for future research.