@article{CaliendoCobbClarkSilvaGoncalvesetal.2024, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. and Silva-Goncalves, Juliana and Uhlendorff, Arne}, title = {Locus of control and the preference for agency}, series = {European economic review}, volume = {165}, journal = {European economic review}, number = {104737}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0014-2921}, doi = {10.1016/j.euroecorev.2024.104737}, pages = {24}, year = {2024}, abstract = {We conduct a laboratory experiment to study how locus of control operates through people's preferences and beliefs to influence their decisions. Using the principal-agent setting of the delegation game, we test four key channels that conceptually link locus of control to decision-making: (i) preference for agency, (ii) optimism and (iii) confidence regarding the return to effort, and (iv) illusion of control. Knowing the return and cost of stated effort, principals either retain or delegate the right to make an investment decision that generates payoffs for themselves and their agents. Extending the game to the context in which the return to stated effort is unknown allows us to explicitly study the relationship between locus of control and beliefs about the return to effort. We find that internal locus of control is linked to the preference for agency, an effect that is driven by women. We find no evidence that locus of control influences optimism and confidence about the return to stated effort, or that it operates through an illusion of control.}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoCobbClarkSilvaGoncalvesetal.2023, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. and Silva-Goncalves, Juliana and Uhlendorff, Arne}, title = {Locus of control and the preference for agency}, series = {IZA discussion paper}, volume = {No. 16061}, journal = {IZA discussion paper}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {2365-9793}, doi = {10.2139/ssrn.4416820}, pages = {49}, year = {2023}, abstract = {We conduct a laboratory experiment to study how locus of control operates through people's preferences and beliefs to influence their decisions. Using the principal-agent setting of the delegation game, we test four key channels that conceptually link locus of control to decision-making: (i) preference for agency; (ii) optimism and (iii) confidence regarding the return to effort; and (iv) illusion of control. Knowing the return and cost of stated effort, principals either retain or delegate the right to make an investment decision that generates payoffs for themselves and their agents. Extending the game to the context in which the return to stated effort is unknown allows us to explicitly study the relationship between locus of control and beliefs about the return to effort. We find that internal locus of control is linked to the preference for agency, an effect that is driven by women. We find no evidence that locus of control influences optimism and confidence about the return to stated effort, or that it operates through an illusion of control.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Obst2022, author = {Obst, Cosima}, title = {Essays in labor economics}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56379}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-563794}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {272}, year = {2022}, abstract = {This thesis offers insights into the process of workers decisions to invest into work-related training. Specifically, the role of personality traits and attitudes is analysed. The aim is to understand whether such traits contribute to an under-investment into training. Importantly, general and specific training are distinguished, where the worker's productivity increases in many firms in the former and only in the current firm in the latter case. Additionally, this thesis contributes to the evaluation of the German minimum wage introduction in 2015, identifying causal effects on wages and working hours. Chapters two to four focus on the work-related training decision. First, individuals with an internal locus of control see a direct link between their own actions and their labor market success, while external individuals connect their outcomes to fate, luck, and other people. Consequently, it can be expected that internal individuals expect higher returns to training and are, thus, more willing to participate. The results reflect this hypothesis with internal individuals being more likely to participate in general (but not specific) training. Second, training can be viewed either as a risky investment or as an insurance against negative labor income shocks. In both cases, risk attitudes are expected to play a role in the decision process. The data point towards risk seeking individuals being more likely to participate in general (but not specific) training, and thus, training being viewed on average as a risky investment. Third, job satisfaction influences behavioral decisions in the job context, where dissatisfied workers may react by neglecting their duties, improving the situation or quitting the job. In the first case, dissatisfied workers are expected to invest less in training, while the latter two reactions could lead to higher participation rates amongst dissatisfied workers. The results suggest that on average dissatisfied workers are less likely to invest into training than satisfied workers. However, closer inspections of quit intentions and different sources of dissatisfaction paint less clear pictures, pointing towards the complexity of the job satisfaction construct. Chapters five and six evaluate the introduction of the minimum wage in Germany in 2015. First, in 2015 an increase in the growth of hourly wages can be identified as a causal effect of the minimum wage introduction. However, at the same time, a reduction in the weekly working hours results in an overall unchanged growth in monthly earnings. When considering the effects in 2016, the decrease in weekly working hours disappears, resulting in a significant increase in the growth of monthly earnings due to the minimum wage. Importantly, the analysis suggests that the increase in hourly wages was not sufficient to ensure all workers receiving the minimum wage. This points to non-compliance being an issue in the first years after the minimum wage introduction.}, language = {en} } @article{CaliendoHennecke2022, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Hennecke, Juliane}, title = {Drinking is different!}, series = {Empirical economics}, volume = {63}, journal = {Empirical economics}, number = {5}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0377-7332}, doi = {10.1007/s00181-022-02219-3}, pages = {2785 -- 2815}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Locus of control (LOC) measures how much an individual believes in the causal relationship between her own actions and her life's outcomes. While earlier literature has shown that an increasing internal LOC is associated with increased health-conscious behavior in domains such as smoking, exercise or diets, we find that drinking seems to be different. Using very informative German panel data, we extend and generalize previous findings and find a significant positive association between having an internal LOC and the probability of occasional and regular drinking for men and women. An increase in an individual's LOC by one standard deviation increases the probability of occasional or regular drinking on average by 3.4\% for men and 6.9\% for women. Using a decomposition method, we show that roughly a quarter of this association can be explained by differences in the social activities between internal and external individuals.}, language = {en} } @techreport{CaliendoHennecke2020, type = {Working Paper}, author = {Caliendo, Marco and Hennecke, Juliane}, title = {Drinking is Different!}, series = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, journal = {CEPA Discussion Papers}, number = {18}, issn = {2628-653X}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-46979}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-469790}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Unhealthy behavior can be extremely costly from a micro- and macroeconomic perspective and exploring the determinants of such behavior is highly important from an economist's point of view. We examine whether locus of control (LOC) can explain alcohol consumption as an important domain of health behavior. LOC measures how much an individual believes that she is in control of the consequences of her own actions for her life's future outcomes. While earlier literature showed that an increasing internal LOC is associated with increased health-conscious behavior in domains such as smoking, exercise or diets, we find that drinking seems to be different. Using German panel data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) we find a significant positive effect of having an internal LOC on the probability of moderate and regular drinking. We suggest and discuss two likely mechanisms for this relationship and find interesting gender differences. While social investments play an important role for both men and women, risk perceptions are especially relevant for men.}, language = {en} }