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The Creativity Premium

Author

Listed:
  • Gill, David

    (Purdue University)

  • Prowse, Victoria

    (Purdue University)

Abstract

Success in life increasingly depends on key skills that allow people to thrive in education, the labor market, and their interactions with others. In this paper, we emphasize creativity as a key skill that is essential to open-ended problem solving and resistant to automation. We use rich longitudinal data to study the relationship between people’s creativity measured in childhood and their individual attributes and life outcomes. We find that childhood creativity predicts labor market and educational success: more creative individuals earn more during the course of their careers, work in higher occupational categories, and reach higher levels of educational attainment. Our analysis of attributes further suggests that creative individuals have a package of practical skills that allows them to thrive in work environments where learning from experience is important. We combine insights from our findings with evidence from psychology to propose creativity-improving interventions that could lead to substantial economic benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Gill, David & Prowse, Victoria, 2022. "The Creativity Premium," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 618, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    • Handle: RePEc:cge:wacage:618
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    File URL: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/research/centres/cage/manage/publications/wp618.2022.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Buser, Thomas & Ahlskog, Rafael & Johannesson, Magnus & Koellinger, Philipp & Oskarsson, Sven, 2024. "The causal effect of genetic variants linked to cognitive and non-cognitive skills on education and labor market outcomes," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. van Lent, Max, 2024. "Peer Creativity and Academic Achievement," IZA Discussion Papers 16847, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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