[STBI-20200227] Cognitive Skills, Personality, University Major & Subsequent Earnings

Topic: Cognitive Skills and Personality as Determinants of University Major and Subsequent Earnings

Presenter: Tuomo Suhonen, VATT Institute for Economic Research, Helsinki, Finland.

Time: 11:00 – Thursday, 27 February, 2020

Venue: Room B.1001, Campus B, 279 Nguyen Tri Phuong, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City

Abstract: The choice of university major is known to significantly affect one’s expected earnings, whereas it is unknown whether and how the returns to specific majors vary by one’s cognitive ability and personality traits. Previous evidence on the relationship between skill endowments and the choice of major is also limited and based on small samples of university students. In this study, we merge full-population register data on Finnish male university graduates with the Finnish Defense Forces’ cognitive and psychological tests to examine how the test results relate to the choice of major and earnings differences within and across majors. The results show that cognitive skills and personality traits (non-cognitive skills) are important predictors of major choice and major-specific earnings after graduation.

About the presenter: Tuomo Suhonen is currently working as a senior researcher at the VATT Institute for Economic Research in Helsinki, Finland. His work focuses on microeconometric and quasi-experimental analyses of questions related to the economics of education and labor economics, particularly returns to educational choices, intergenerational transmission of education and the effects of educational reforms. He obtained a PhD in economics from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2014.

RSVP: In order to prepare a proper arrangement, please register for your attendance by filling in the registration form https://forms.gle/oZfgUAkVkk37HaAw8 before 26 February 2020.