TY  - JOUR
AU  - Borghans,Lex
AU  - Weel,Bas ter
AU  - Weinberg,Bruce A.
TI  - Interpersonal Styles and Labor Market Outcomes
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 12846
PY  - 2007
Y2  - January 2007
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12846
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w12846.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Lex Borghans
Department of Economics and ROA
Maastricht University
P.O. Box 616
NL-6200 MD Maastricht
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 43 3883620
E-Mail: lex.borghans@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Bas ter Weel
Department of International Economics
CPB Netherlands Bureau
for Economic Policy Analysis
P.O.Box 80510
2508 GM Den Haag
The Netherlands
E-Mail: b.ter.weel@cpb.nl

Bruce A. Weinberg
Department of Economics
Ohio State University
410 Arps Hall
1945 North High Street
Columbus, OH  43210
Tel: 614/292-5642
Fax: 614/292-3906
E-Mail: weinberg.27@osu.edu
AB  - This paper develops a framework to understand the role of interpersonal interactions in the labor market including task assignment and wages. Effective interpersonal interactions involve caring, to establish cooperation, and at the same time directness, to communicate in an unambiguous way. The ability to perform these tasks varies with personality and the importance of these tasks varies across jobs. An assignment model shows that people are most productive in jobs that match their style and earn less when they have to shift to other jobs. An oversupply of one attribute relative to the other reduces wages for people who are better with the attribute in greater supply. We present evidence that youth sociability affects job assignment in adulthood. The returns to interpersonal interactions are consistent with the assignment model.
ER  -