Vim
Will Win: Long-Run Effects of
Motivation and Other "Noncognitive" Traits on Success
Greg
J. Duncan, Rachel Dunifon, and Dave Knutson
Abstract
The impact on success of motivation, risk aversion, social capital,
and a host of other "noncognitive" characteristics is assessed using
data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Our intragenerational
analysis uses a sample of men first observed in their 20s, and relates
these traits to labor-market attainments measured 15-25 years later.
Our intergenerational analysis uses a sample of men first observed
in their 30s and relates these traits to the completed schooling
of their children. In contrast to most previous work with these
data, we find considerable analytic power for a number of traits,
which, if anything, increases with the measurement interval between
the traits and subsequent earnings. Taken together, our motivational
measures are as powerful in accounting for future labor-market success
than either completed schooling or an admittedly crude measure of
cognitive skills. A very different set of traits, including church
attendance and savings, predict intergenerational "success."
Greg J. Duncan,
School of Education and Social Policy, Northwestern University Rachel Dunifon, School of Education
and Social Policy, Northwestern University Dave Knutson, Harris Graduate
School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago
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