The Determinants of Population Self-Control

Deborah Cobb-Clark, Sarah C. Dahmann, Daniel Kamhofer and Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch ()
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Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch: Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Hannah Schildberg-Hoerisch ()

No 15175, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper demonstrates that structural factors can shape people's self-control. We study the determinants of adult self-control using population-representative data and exploiting two sources of quasi-experimental variation-Germany's division and compulsory schooling reforms. We find that former East Germans have substantially higher levels of self-control than West Germans and provide evidence for suppression as a possible underlying mechanism. An increase in compulsory schooling had no causal effect on self-control. Moreover, we find that self-control increases linearly with age. In contrast to previous findings for children, there is no gender gap in adult self-control and family background does not predict self-control.

Keywords: determinants of self-control; Brief Self-Control Scale; population-representative evidence; German division; quasi-experiments; compulsory schooling reforms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C26 D90 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41 pages
Date: 2022-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-eur and nep-evo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - updated version published as 'Surveillance and self-control' in: Economic Journal, 2024, 134 (660), 1666–1682

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Working Paper: The determinants of population self-control (2022)
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