Journal Article
The relationship between the Big Five personality traits and earnings: evidence from a meta-analysis
Publication details
Summary
This meta-analysis examines the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and earnings. The results reveal that openness to experience, conscientiousness, and extraversion exhibit positive correlations with earnings, whereas agreeableness and neuroticism are inversely correlated with earnings. Overall, personality has a modest-to-small effect on earnings, with variations in results depending on econometric models used. Accounting for publication bias, socioeconomic background, and cognitive ability in models affects effect sizes. The findings also underscore the potential for omitted variable bias in the reported personality effects on earnings when relevant factors are omitted from the earnings equation.
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Open Access
© 2024 The Authors. Bulletin of Economic Research published by Board of Trustees of the Bulletin of Economic Research and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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