UNU-MERIT Working Papers Series

The Economics and Psychology of Personality Traits

Lex Borghans, Angela Lee Duckworth, James J. Heckman & Bas ter Weel #2008-010

This paper explores the interface between personality psychology and economics. We examine the predictive power of personality and the stability of personality traits over the life cycle. We develop simple analytical frameworks for interpreting the evidence in personality psychology and suggest promising avenues for future research.

Keywords: personality traits, lifecycle effects JEL Codes: I2, J24

UNU-MERIT Working Papers ISSN 1871-9872

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