Non-Cognitive Skills: How Much Do They Matter for Earnings in Canada?

  • Dawson McLean Employment and Social Development Canada
  • Mohsen Bouaissa Employment and Social Development Canada
  • Bruno Rainville Employment and Social Development Canada
  • Ludovic Auger Employment and Social Development Canada
Keywords: Management, Labour Market, Returns to Skills, Non-Cognitive Skill, Cognitive Skill, Wage Regressions, Personality Traits, Five-Factor Model

Abstract

Evidence from different countries suggests that non-cognitive skills play an important role in wage determination and overall social outcomes, but studies for Canada are scarce. We contribute to filling this gap by estimating wage regressions with the Big Five traits using the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults. Our results indicate that conscientiousness is positively associated with wages, while agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism are associated with negative returns, with higher magnitudes on agreeableness and conscientiousness for females. Cognitive ability has the highest estimated wage return so, while significant, non-cognitive skills do not seem to be the most important wage determinant.

Published
2019-12-04
How to Cite
McLean, D., Bouaissa, M., Rainville, B., & Auger, L. (2019). Non-Cognitive Skills: How Much Do They Matter for Earnings in Canada?. American Journal of Management, 19(4). https://doi.org/10.33423/ajm.v19i4.2392
Section
Articles