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Author: Hedengren, David
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Hedengren, David
Three Microeconomic Applications Using Administrative Records
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, George Mason University, 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Cognitive Ability; German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP); I.Q.; Noncognitive Skills; Nonresponse

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In the first example, The Dog that Didn't Bark: What Item Nonresponse Shows about Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Ability, I show that what survey respondents choose not to answer (item nonresponse) provides a useful task based measure of cognitive ability (e.g., IQ) and non-cognitive ability (e.g., Conscientiousness). Using the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), I find consistent correlation between item nonresponse and traditional measures of IQ and Conscientiousness. I also find that item nonresponse is more strongly correlated with earnings in the SOEP than traditional measures of either IQ or Conscientiousness. I also use the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Gold Standard, which has no explicit measure of either cognitive or non-cognitive ability, to show that item nonresponse predicts earnings from self-reported and administrative sources. Consistent with previous work showing that Conscientiousness and IQ are positively associated with longevity, I document that item nonresponse is associated with decreased mortality risk. My findings suggest that item nonresponse provides an important measure of cognitive and non-cognitive ability that is contained on every survey.
Bibliography Citation
Hedengren, David. Three Microeconomic Applications Using Administrative Records. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Economics, George Mason University, 2013.