Personality traits and occupational status-evidence from China

Abstract

This paper estimates the relationship between personality traits measured by the “Big Five Model” and occupational status with a nationally representative household survey from China. I find that four of the five personality traits except extraversion are significantly associated with occupational status in terms of occupational choices, occupational prestige, and socioeconomic status. In particular, conscientiousness is the most important predictor among the five dimensions of personality traits. The findings also suggest that the returns of personality traits to occupational status are higher for females.