Some Contributions of Economics to the Study of Personality

James Heckman, Tomáš Jagelka and Tim Kautz ()
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Tim Kautz: Mathematica Policy Research

No 12753, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper synthesizes recent research in economics and psychology on the measurement and empirical importance of personality skills and preferences. They predict and cause important life outcomes such as wages, health, and longevity. Skills develop over the life cycle and can be enhanced by education, parenting, and environmental influences to different degrees at different ages. Economic analysis clarifies psychological studies by establishing that personality is measured by performance on tasks which depends on incentives and multiple skills. Identification of any single skill therefore requires isolation of confounding factors, accounting for measurement error using rich data and application of appropriate statistical techniques. Skills can be inferred not only by questionnaires and experiments but also from observed behavior. Economists advance the analysis of human differences by providing anchored measures of economic preferences and studying their links to personality and cognitive skills. Connecting the research from the two disciplines promotes understanding of the number and nature of skills and preferences required to characterize essential differences.

Keywords: preferences; psychology; behavioral economics; human diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 C93 D12 D9 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79 pages
Date: 2019-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-neu
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (29)

Published - published in: O. P. John and R. W. Robins (eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research, 4th ed., Guilford Press, 2021, 853–892

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Related works:
Working Paper: Some Contributions of Economics to the Study of Personality (2019)
Working Paper: Some Contributions of Economics to the Study of Personality (2019)
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