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Research ArticleArticle

The Effect of School Rank on Personality Traits

Laura Pagani, Simona Comi and Federica Origo
Published online before print October 14, 2019, 1218-9916R2; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.56.4.1218-9916R2
Laura Pagani
Laura Pagani is Associate Professor of Economics at Università di Milano Bicocca. Simona Comi is Associate Professor of Economics at Università di Milano Bicocca. Federica Origo is Associate Professor of Economics at Università degli Studi di Bergamo and Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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Simona Comi
Laura Pagani is Associate Professor of Economics at Università di Milano Bicocca. Simona Comi is Associate Professor of Economics at Università di Milano Bicocca. Federica Origo is Associate Professor of Economics at Università degli Studi di Bergamo and Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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Federica Origo
Laura Pagani is Associate Professor of Economics at Università di Milano Bicocca. Simona Comi is Associate Professor of Economics at Università di Milano Bicocca. Federica Origo is Associate Professor of Economics at Università degli Studi di Bergamo and Research Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
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Abstract

We study the effect of classroom rank on high-school students’ Big Five personality traits. We exploit idiosyncratic differences in the class distribution of earlier academic achievement. Such differences generate quasi-random variation in class rank for students with the same initial achievement. We find a positive and sizeable effect of rank on conscientiousness, but we find no effects on the other four personality traits. A thorough analysis of the mechanism suggests that the primary channels through which class rank improves conscientiousness are perceived ability and academic motivation.

JEL Classification
  • I21
  • I24
  • J24

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Journal of Human Resources: 60 (3)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 60, Issue 3
1 May 2025
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The Effect of School Rank on Personality Traits
Laura Pagani, Simona Comi, Federica Origo
Journal of Human Resources Oct 2019, 1218-9916R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.56.4.1218-9916R2

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The Effect of School Rank on Personality Traits
Laura Pagani, Simona Comi, Federica Origo
Journal of Human Resources Oct 2019, 1218-9916R2; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.56.4.1218-9916R2
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Keywords

  • I21
  • I24
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