TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Cobb-Clark, Deborah A.
AU  - Lepinteur, Anthony
AU  - Menta, Giorgia
        TI  - The Stability of Self-Control in Unstable Times
        PY  - 2025/Nov/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18270
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18270
        AB  - This paper examines the stability of self-control over time using nationally-representative longitudinal data from Australia. We track the same individuals between 2019 and 2023, a period encompassing one of the most disruptive global crisis in recent history: the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these extraordinary circumstances, self-control remained remarkably stable: its mean and distribution were unchanged, and individuals largely preserved their relative positions. Within-person changes were small, and unrelated to variations in state-level exposure to both the spread of the virus and the policy responses that ensued. The evidence we report suggests that self-control is a deeply rooted, trait-like characteristic that persists even under extreme societal stress.
        KW  - stability
KW  - HILDA
KW  - self-control
KW  - COVID-19
        ER  -