Discussion paper

DP17968 Noncognitive Skills at the Time of COVID-19: An Experiment with Professional Traders and Students

We study the stability of non-cognitive skills by comparing experimental data gathered before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a sample of professional traders, we find a significant decrease in Agreeableness and Locus of Control and a moderate decrease in Grit. These patterns are primarily driven by those with more negative experiences of the pandemic. Other skills, such as Trust, Conscientiousness, and Self-Monitoring, are unchanged. We contrast these results with those from a sample of undergraduate students whose non-cognitive skills remain constant (except Conscientiousness). Our findings provide evidence against the stability of some non-cognitive skills, particularly among professional traders.

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Citation

Angrisani, M, M Cipriani, A Guarino, R Kendall and J Ortiz de Zarate Pina (2023), ‘DP17968 Noncognitive Skills at the Time of COVID-19: An Experiment with Professional Traders and Students‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 17968. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp17968