Self-Control: Determinants, Life Outcomes and Intergenerational Implications

Deborah Cobb-Clark, Sarah C. Dahmann, Daniel Kamhofer and Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch ()
Additional contact information
Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch: Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Hannah Schildberg-Hoerisch ()

No 12488, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper studies self-control in a nationally representative sample. Using the well-established Tangney scale to measure trait self-control, we find that people's age as well as the political and economic institutions they are exposed to have an economically meaningful impact on their level of self-control. A higher degree of self-control is, in turn, associated with better health, educational and labor market outcomes as well as greater financial and overall well-being. Parents' self-control is linked to reduced behavioral problems among their children. Importantly, we demonstrate that self-control is a key behavioral economic construct which adds significant explanatory power beyond other more commonly studied personality traits and economic preference parameters. Our results suggest that self-control is potentially a good target for intervention policies.

Keywords: personality traits; Tangney scale; self-control; intergenerational transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 83 pages
Date: 2019-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-evo, nep-lma and nep-neu
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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

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https://docs.iza.org/dp12488.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Self-Control: Determinants, Life Outcomes and Intergenerational Implications (2019)
Working Paper: Self-control: Determinants, life outcomes and intergenerational implications (2019)
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