The Stability of Self-Control in Unstable Times

Deborah A. Cobb-Clark (), Anthony Lepinteur and Giorgia Menta
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Deborah A. Cobb-Clark: University of Sydney

No 18270, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: stability; HILDA; self-control; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe and nep-hea
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