research

labor market returns to sociability: an endogenous search intensity model

extroversion, a personality trait related to sociability, is correlated with higher hourly wages in NLSY97 data. using a partial-equilibrium endogenous search intensity model in continuous time, I investigate how much of the wage dispersion between extroverts and introverts is due to sorting into (or receiving offers from) jobs that pay different wages, and how much of the wage dispersion is due to a lower cost of search for extroverts compared to introverts. I find that extroverts search 29.4% more intensely, and have a wage offer distribution that stochastically dominates that of introverts. the extrovert-introvert gap in log hourly wages is 0.07, of which 31.9% can be attributed to lower cost of search for extroverts, and different wage offer distributions accounts for 81% of the gap.

how does a community college education influence civic engagement? experimental evidence using voter registration data (with Isaac McFarlin)