Abstract
A growing literature studies how cognitive and noncognitive skills influence labor market outcomes. This paper examines the relationship between childhood cognitive and noncognitive skills and labor market outcomes, using a rich longitudinal data set from rural China to overcome simultaneity concerns. We find that childhood cognitive skills have strong explanatory power for the wages of adults in their late 20s, even after controlling for years of education. We also find gender differences in the returns to various noncognitive skills, including internalizing and externalizing behavior. Females are penalized for externalizing behavior while males are rewarded, suggesting the role of gender norms in the labor market.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 294-311 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization |
| Volume | 193 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We would like to thank Albert Park for his comments and suggestions. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor, as well as seminar participants at Colgate University and the University of Minnesota for their helpful feedback. Xianqiang Zou is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Research Funds of Renmin University of China (20XNF015).
Funding Information:
We would like to thank Albert Park for his comments and suggestions. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and the editor, as well as seminar participants at Colgate University and the University of Minnesota for their helpful feedback. Xianqiang Zou is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and the Research Funds of Renmin University of China (20XNF015).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Keywords
- China
- Cognitive skills
- Gender differences
- Labor market returns
- Noncognitive skills
