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Doctoral Degrees (Economics)
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Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
Department of Economics
Doctoral Degrees (Economics)
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Effects of behavioural and psychological attributes on labour market outcomes in an uncertain economic environment
dc.contributor.advisor Rankin, Neil en_ZA
dc.contributor.author Matsuro, Leon en_ZA
dc.contributor.other Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Economics. en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned 2020-02-24T08:14:08Z
dc.date.accessioned 2020-04-28T12:19:35Z
dc.date.available 2020-02-24T08:14:08Z
dc.date.available 2020-04-28T12:19:35Z
dc.date.issued 2020-03
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/108107
dc.description Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2020. en_ZA
dc.description.abstract ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The power of human capital variables in predicting an individual’s economic success is well documented theoretically and empirically. However, recently, economists have acknowledged that even with a rich set of controls, residual differences remain unexplained by traditional economic variables. A more recent effort incorporates insights from neighbouring social sciences, including personality psychology, in examining an individual’s life outcomes. At the center of this research has been the role of unobservable individual heterogeneity, in particular behavioural and psychological attributes. There is, however, a substantial imbalance in the geographical distribution of this research; the evidence is mostly limited to developed countries, which differ systematically from developing countries. This dissertation aims to address this imbalance. It examines the role of behavioural and psychological attributes in explaining an individual’s labour market outcomes in an emerging economy characterized by uncertainty.
The dissertation introduces a novel Zimbabwean matched employer-employee data set that captures key variables of workers’ behavioural and psychological attributes. It derives measures of workers’ Big Five personality traits, risk and time preferences, and examines their role in explaining labour markets outcomes in the Zimbabwean manufacturing sector. Chapter 2 employs a factor analytical strategy to extract five personality factors from a 15-item Big Five Inventory. The factors - Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism, commonly known as the Big Five - represent the broad dimensions of abstracting an individual’s personality. The factor model passes fitness tests, and the extracted factors retain acceptable levels of internal reliability. In addition, the factors mirror the universal distribution of the Big Five personality traits by age and gender. Chapter 3 examines the role of the Big Five personality traits in explaining labour market outcomes in the Zimbabwean manufacturing sector. To do this, the study controls for the Big Five personality traits in models that estimate sectoral selection, earnings, and job mobility. The empirical findings show that personality traits explain the three labour market outcomes over and above the traditional economic variables. Chapter 4 uses experimental data to construct a risk aversion measure and examines its role in explaining job mobility. The study confirms the empirical findings that risk tolerant individuals are more likely to experience job mobility, as compared to their risk averse peers. This result is robust to a set of controls, including industrial sector fixed effects. Chapter 5 computes measures of worker’s time preferences (exponential and hyperbolic discount rates) and examine their role in explaining outstanding salaries. The empirical results suggest that individual and job characteristics - rather than time preferences - explain outstanding salaries. Chapter 6 simultaneously controls for personality traits, risk, and time preferences in labour market outcome models. The study finds empirical support for the simultaneous inclusion of behavioural and psychological attributes in labour market models. Overall, the analysis shows that behavioural and psychological attributes constitute important individual characteristics that are central to the analysis of labour markets. en_ZA
dc.description.abstract AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Die belangrikheid van opvoeding en die bou van individuele kapitaal om iemand se ekonomiese sukses
te voorspel is goed gedokumenteer teoreties en empiries. Alhoewel, ekonome het onlangs erken dat
selfs met ‘n stel kontrole veranderlikes, dat daar steeds verskille in ekonomiese sukses oorbly wat nie
verduidelik kan word deur die onafhanklike en kontrole veranderlikes nie. Deesdae, word insig getrek uit
sosiale wetenskappe onder andere persoonlikheid sielkunde wanneer ekonomiese lewensuitkomstes
bestudeer word. Hierdie navorsing fokus gewoonlik op verskille tussen mense wat nie ooglopend is nie,
spesifiek gedrags en sielkundige verskille. Ongelukkig, kom die meerderheid van hierdie navorsing uit
ontwikkelde lande, wat verskil van ontwikkelende lande. Hierdie tesis mik om hierdie balans reg te stel.
Dit bestudeer die rol van gedrags en sielkundige faktore in die verduidelik van ‘n mens se arbeidsmark
uitkomstes in ‘n ontwikkelende land waar onsekerheid hoog is.
Hierdie tesis stel voor ‘n nuwe datastel waarin werkers in Zimbabwe gepaar word met hul werkgewers
en wat belangrike veranderlikes van werkers se gedrags en sielkundige aspekte in het. Dit bevat
maatstawwe van werkers se groot 5 persoonlikheidstrekke, risiko en tyd voorkeure en bestudeer hierdie
faktore se rol in die verduidelik van individuele arbeidsmark uitkomstes in Zimbabwe se vervaardigings
sector. Hoofstuk 2 maak gebruik van ‘n faktor analise strategie om 5 persoonlikheids trekke uit ‘n vyftien
faktor groot vyf biblioteek te trek. Die vyf faktore is openlikheid, pligsgetrouheid, Ekstroversie,
aangenaamheid en neurotisme. Algemeen bekend as die Groot Vyf - verteenwoordig die breë dimensies
van die abstrahering van 'n individu se persoonlikheid. Die faktormodel slaag fiksheidstoetse, en die
onttrekde faktore behou aanvaarbare vlakke van interne betroubaarheid. Daarbenewens weerspieël die
faktore die universele verspreiding van die groot vyf persoonlikheidseienskappe volgens ouderdom en
geslag
Hoofstuk 3 ondersoek die rol van die Groot Vyf persoonlikheidseienskappe in die verduideliking van
arbeidsmarkuitkomste in die Zimbabwiese vervaardigingsektor. Om dit te doen, kontroleer die studie
vir die Groot Vyf persoonlikheidseienskappe in modelle wat sektorale seleksie, verdienste en
werksmobiliteit skat. Die empiriese bevindinge toon dat persoonlikheidseienskappe die drie
arbeidsmarkuitkomste bo en behalwe die tradisionele ekonomiese veranderlikes verduidelik.
Hoofstuk 4 gebruik eksperimentele data om 'n risiko-aversiemaatstaf te konstrueer en ondersoek
die rol daarvan in die verduideliking van werkmobiliteit. Die studie bevestig die empiriese bevindinge
dat risiko-verdraagsame individue meer geneig is om werkmobiliteit te ervaar, in vergelyking met hul
risiko-sku eweknieë. Hierdie resultaat bly constant selfs wanneer gekontrolleer word vir 'n stel
beheermaatreëls, insluitend industriële sektor vaste effekte. Hoofstuk 5 bereken maatstawwe van
werker se tydvoorkeure (eksponensiële en hiperboliese verdiskonteringskoerse) en ondersoek hul
rol in die verduideliking van uitstaande salarisse. Die empiriese resultate dui daarop dat individuele
en werkseienskappe - eerder as tydsvoorkeure - uitstaande salarisse verklaar. Hoofstuk 6 kontroleer
gelyktydig vir persoonlikheidseienskappe, risiko en tydvoorkeure in arbeidsmarkuitkomsmodelle. Die
studie vind empiriese ondersteuning vir die gelyktydige insluiting van gedrags- en psigologiese
eienskappe in arbeidsmarkmodelle. Oor die algemeen toon die ontleding dat gedrags- en psigologiese eienskappe belangrike individuele kenmerke uitmaak wat sentraal staan in die
ontleding van arbeidsmarkte. af_ZA
dc.format.extent x, 153 pages ; illustrations, includes annexures
dc.language.iso en_ZA en_ZA
dc.publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University en_ZA
dc.subject Labor market -- Zimbabwe en_ZA
dc.subject Employees -- Psychological aspects en_ZA
dc.subject Characters and characteristics en_ZA
dc.subject Personality en_ZA
dc.subject Occupational mobility en_ZA
dc.subject Income distribution en_ZA
dc.subject UCTD
dc.title Effects of behavioural and psychological attributes on labour market outcomes in an uncertain economic environment en_ZA
dc.type Thesis en_ZA
dc.description.version Doctoral en_ZA
dc.rights.holder Stellenbosch University en_ZA
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Doctoral Degrees (Economics) [92]
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