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How Cognitive Ability and Personality Traits Affect Geographic Mobility

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  • Aline Bütikofer
  • Giovanni Peri

Abstract

Noncognitive characteristics and personality traits can be strong predictors of economic and social outcomes of individuals. In this paper, using data on cognitive ability and psychologist-assessed “sociability” and “adaptability” linked to administrative data for the male 1932–33 birth cohort in Norway, we analyze how these three characteristics affect men’s probability to migrate across labor markets. We find that higher adaptability, the capacity to adjust to new environments and situations, and higher cognitive ability are significant predictors of the probability to migrate. Adaptability is a particularly strong migration predictor for individuals with low cognitive ability or low socioeconomic background.

Suggested Citation

  • Aline Bütikofer & Giovanni Peri, 2021. "How Cognitive Ability and Personality Traits Affect Geographic Mobility," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(2), pages 559-595.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:doi:10.1086/710189
    DOI: 10.1086/710189
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    Cited by:

    1. Dodin, Majed & Findeisen, Sebastian & Henkel, Lukas & Sachs, Dominik & Schüle, Paul, 2024. "Social mobility in Germany," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    2. Adamecz-Völgyi, Anna & Shure, Nikki, 2022. "The gender gap in top jobs – The role of overconfidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Mitrou, Francis & Zubrick, Stephen R., 2024. "Retirement, housing mobility, downsizing and neighbourhood quality - A causal investigation," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Edwards, Rebecca & Gibson, Rachael & Harmon, Colm & Schurer, Stefanie, 2022. "First-in-their-family students at university: Can non-cognitive skills compensate for social origin?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Ghazala Azmat & Katja Maria Kaufmann & Yasemin Özdemir, 2023. "Socioemotional Development During Adolescence: Evidence from a Large Macro Shock," SciencePo Working papers hal-04350544, HAL.
    6. Bertoni, Marco & Chattopadhyay, Debdeep & Gu, Yuanyuan, 2023. "Medical Brain Drain – Assessing the Role of Job Attributes and Individual Traits," IZA Discussion Papers 16243, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Cheng, Ziyi & Chen, Xi, 2024. "Cognitive ability, the Big Five, and rural-to-urban migration in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Mesplé-Somps, Sandrine & Nilsson, Björn, 2023. "Role models, aspirations and desire to migrate," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 819-839.
    9. Langella, Monica & Manning, Alan, 2022. "Residential mobility and unemployment in the UK," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    10. Justine Herve & Helene Purcell & Subha Mani, 2023. "Conscientiousness Matters: How does Personality affect Labor Market Outcomes?," Fordham Economics Discussion Paper Series dp2023-05er:dp2023-05, Fordham University, Department of Economics.
    11. Alessia Lo Turco & Daniela Maggioni & Federico Trionfetti, 2024. "Immigration and the skill premium," Working Papers hal-04556685, HAL.
    12. Damiano Argan and Anatole Cheyssson, 2023. "Plurilingualism and Brain Drain: Unexpected Consequences of Access to Foreign TV," Economics Working Papers EUI ECO 2023/01, European University Institute.
    13. Ghazala Azmat & Katja Maria Kaufmann & Yasemin Özdemir, 2022. "Gender Differences in Adolescents' Socioemotional Development and their Later Economic Consequences," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03918118, HAL.
    14. Nakamura, Nobuyuki & Suzuki, Aya, 2022. "How Altruism Works during a Pandemic: Examining the Roles of Financial Support and Degrees of Individual Altruism on International Remittance," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322073, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. E. S. Lezin, 2023. "Assessment of the directions and causes of migration in the modern world," Entrepreneur’s Guide, JSC “Publishing Agency “Science and Educationâ€, vol. 16(3).
    16. Jorge González Chapela, 2022. "A Binary Choice Model with Sample Selection and Covariate-Related Misclassification," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-20, March.
    17. Adamecz, Anna & Ilieva, Radina & Shure, Nikki, 2025. "Revisiting the Dunning-Kruger effect: composite measures and heterogeneity by gender," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1566, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    18. Adamecz, Anna & Ilieva, Radina & Shure, Nikki, 2025. "Revisiting the Dunning-Kruger Effect: Composite Measures and Heterogeneity by Gender," IZA Discussion Papers 17687, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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