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A Change Is Gonna Come: Universality, Stability, and Shocks in Personality Traits in Rural India

Author

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  • Natal, Arnaud

    (University of Bordeaux)

  • Nordman, Christophe Jalil

    (IRD, DIAL, Paris-Dauphine)

Abstract

Taking the case of rural South India, we explore the universality of the Big Five personality traits and their stability over time. We then investigate the effects of two exogenous shocks on trait stability: the demonetisation of November 2016 and the second COVID-19 lockdown. We use an original longitudinal dataset collected in 2016-2017 and 2020-2021. After correcting the data for acquiescence bias and performing factor analysis, we find that three personality traits emerge: emotional stability, plasticity, and conscientiousness. We find no evidence of temporal stability. Results from the covariate-balancing propensity score weighting model shows that the demonetisation impacts plasticity and conscientiousness, with exposed individuals scoring notably higher. The second COVID-19 lockdown exerts a negative impact on emotional stability.

Suggested Citation

  • Natal, Arnaud & Nordman, Christophe Jalil, 2025. "A Change Is Gonna Come: Universality, Stability, and Shocks in Personality Traits in Rural India," IZA Discussion Papers 18210, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18210
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anger, Silke & Camehl, Georg & Peter, Frauke, 2017. "Involuntary job loss and changes in personality traits," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 71-91.
    2. Hilger, Anne & Nordman, Christophe Jalil, 2020. "The Determinants of Trust: Evidence from Rural South India," IZA Discussion Papers 13150, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Christophe Z Guilmoto, 2022. "An alternative estimation of the death toll of the Covid-19 pandemic in India," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(2), pages 1-14, February.
    4. Isabelle Guérin & Youna Lanos & Sébastien Michiels & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Govindan Venkatasubramanian, 2017. "Insights on Demonetisation from Rural Tamil Nadu: Understanding Social Networks and Social Protection," Post-Print hal-01824464, HAL.
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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
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth

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