2D:4D and Self-Employment Using SOEP Data: A Replication Study

Frank Fossen, Levent Neyse (), Magnus Johannesson and Anna Dreber

No 13180, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The 2 D:4D digit ratio, the ratio of the length of the 2nd digit to the length of the 4th digit, is often considered a proxy for testosterone exposure in utero. A recent study by Nicolaou et al. (2018) reported an association between the lefthand 2 D:4D and self-employment (in a sample of about 1,000 adults). In this preregistered study we replicate these results on a new and larger sample of about 2,600 adults from the German Socioeconomic Panel-Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS). We find no statistically significant associations between 2 D:4D and self-employment and thus cannot confirm the findings of Nicolaou et al. (2018) for left-hand 2 D:4D. Our estimated 99.5% confidence intervals are within an about 2 percentage points change in self-employment for a one standard deviation change in the 2 D:4D when we pool results for men and women (the association does not differ significantly between men and women). Even larger studies are needed to rule out smaller effect sizes.

Keywords: testosterone; self-employment; entrepreneurship; hormones; digit ratio (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J23 L26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 50 pages
Date: 2020-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent, nep-lma and nep-ore
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Published - revised version published in: Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 2022, 46 (1), 21-43

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Working Paper: 2D:4D and Self-Employment Using SOEP Data: A Replication Study (2020)
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