The impact of non-cognitive skills and risk preferences on rural-to-urban migration in Ukraine

Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of immigrants: New perspectives on migrant quality from a selective immigration country

“…They find this to be particularly true for migrants of low cognitive ability, concluding that low-skilled migrants are highly positively selected. Using survey data from Ukraine, Ayhan et al (2019) find that migrants from rural to urban regions are more likely to migrate if they score high on openness to experience, a trait associated with both the adaptability to change and the ability to tolerate risk. Ukrainians are however less likely to move to urban areas if they score high on agreeableness and conscientiousness, the latter being an indicator of dependability and ability to follow protocols.…”

“…We contribute to this empirical literature by quantifying migrant quality through measures of innate ability, characteristics that were considered as unobservable in the recent literature (Bertoli et al 2016). With the exception of Bütikofer & Peri (2019) and Ayhan et al (2019), we are the first to study the cognitive and non-cognitive ability portfolios of migrants of a rich OECD country that screens migrants of observable characteristics such as education and skill since the late-1970s (Birrel, 2003. We differ from the two previous studies, as we study innate abilities as a measure of migrant quality instead of using innate abilities as a predictor of the decision to migrate.…”

“…We differ from the two previous studies, as we study innate abilities as a measure of migrant quality instead of using innate abilities as a predictor of the decision to migrate. The important difference lies in the choice of the control group: whereas we compare immigrants with non-immigrant Australians residing in the destination country, Peri & Buetikofer (2019) and Ayhan et al (2019) compare migrants with non-migrating source country residents.…”

“…Certain personality profiles, characterized by high levels of openness, adaptability and extraversion, are also likely to reduce the psychic costs of migration. (Bütikofer & Peri 2019, Ayhan et al 2019, Camperio et al, 2007Jokela et al, 2008;Silventoinen et al 2008).…”

Individual differences matter : personality traits and preferences in smallholders’ farm management

“…The most prominent model of personality traits is the Big Five Model, which distinguishes five broad dimensions: openness to experiences, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (Costa & McCrae, 1992). 36 In theory, individual differences in personality traits can also explain variation in the behaviour of farmers in areas such as technology adoption, rural-urban migration, land rentals, and fertilizer use decisions (Ali et al, 2019;Ayhan et al, 2020;Fouarge et al, 2019;Qian et al, 2020). For example, farmers with low levels of openness to experience may prefer conventional over innovative agricultural production methods (Qian et al, 2020).…”