Effects of Self-Efficacy on Individual Earnings: A Preliminary Study of the Thai Labor Market
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study estimates the earnings differences in the Thai labor market that are related to workers’ non-cognitive skills by examining the psychological characteristic of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined as a person’s belief in his or her ability to organize and execute courses of action necessary to achieve a goal. The Thai Mental Health Survey measures both basic socio-economic factors and two psychological indicators of self-efficacy and affective state, drawn from 15 items of the Thai Mental Health Indicator. The effect of self-efficacy on an individual’s annual earnings is estimated using both OLS and IV techniques. From the selected sample, the study confirms that the Thai labor market values self-efficacy, even though it is endogenous. Self-efficacy is independent of gender, religion and marital status, and its effect on earnings is unrelated to years of schooling or work experience. Omitting self-efficacy from the model results in underestimation of female earnings, underestimation of earnings in occupations, and overestimation of earnings in the countryside. Self-efficacy likely contributes to additional earnings (such as earnings from overtime and bonuses) made through intense effort, compared with traditional human capital of schooling or work experience. Policy recommendations aimed at improving self-efficacy and areas for further studies are suggested.
Article Details
References
Andrisani, P. J. (1977). Internal-external attitudes, personal initiative, and the labor market experience of black and white men. The Journal of Human Resources, 12(3), 308-328.
Atkinson, J. (1964). An introduction to motivation. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand.
Ayuppa, K. & Kong, W. (2010). The impact of task and outcome interdependence and self-efficacy on employees’ work motivation: An analysis of the Malaysian retail industry. Asia Pacific Business Review, 16(1-2), 123-142.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.
Bandura, A. (2002). Social foundations of thought and action. In D. F. Marks (Eds.), The health psychology reader (pp. 94-106). London: SAGE Publications.
Boonprakob, M. &Boonprakob, P. (2007). Factors affecting work behaviors after the retirement of the government officials at Srinakharinwirot University. The Journal of Behavioral Science, 2(1), 41-53.
Cebi, M. (2007). Locus of control and human capital investment revisited. The Journal of Human Resources. 42(4), 919-932.
Dunifon, R. & Duncan, G. J. (1998). Long-run effects of motivation on labor-market success. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61(1), 33-48.
Easterlin, R. A. (2001). Income and happiness: Towards a unified theory. The Economic Journal, 111(473), 465-484.
Egloff, B., Tausch, A., Kohlmann, C.-W. & Krohne, H. W. (1995). Relationships between time of day, day of the week, and positive mood: Exploring the role of the mood measure. Motivation and Emotion, 19(2), 99-110.
Frank, R. (1984). Are workers paid their marginal products? The American Economic Review, 74(4), 549-571.
Goldsmith, A. H., Veum, J. R. &Darity, W. A. (1997). The impact of psychological and human capital on wages. Economic Inquiry, 35(4), 815-829.
Goldsmith, A. H., Veum, J. R. &Darity, W. A. (2000). Motivation and labor market outcomes. Research in Labor Economics, 19, 109-146.
Heckman, J. J. (2008). Schools, skills and synapses. Economic Inquiry, 46(3), 289-324.
Heckman, J. J., Stixrud, J. &Urzua, S. (2006). The effects of cognitive and noncognitive abilities on labor market outcomes and social behavior. Journal of Labor Economics, 24(3), 411-482.
Heineck, G. & Anger, S. (2010). The returns to cognitive abilities and personality traits in Germany. Labour Economics, 17(3), 535-546.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (1988). International standard classification of occupations. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/stat/isco/isco88/
Jackson, M. (2006). Personality traits and occupational attainment. European Sociological Review, 22(2), 187-199.
Judge, T. A., Erez, A., Bono, J. E. &Thoresen, C. J. (2002). Do the traits self-esteem, neuroticism, locus of control, and generalized self-efficacy indicate a common core construct? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(3), 693-710.
Kennedy-Moore, E., Greenberg, M. A., Newman, M. G. & Stone, A. A. (1992). The relationship between daily events and mood: The mood measure may matter. Motivation and Emotion, 16(2), 143-155.
Linz, S. J. &Semykina, A. (2009). Personality traits as performance enhancers? A comparative analysis of workers in Russia, Armenia and Kazakhstan. Journal of Economic Psychology, 30(1), 71-91.
Mavis, B. (2001). Self-efficacy and OSCE performance among second year medical students. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 6, 93-102.
Mincer, J. (1974). Schooling, experience and earnings. New York: Columbia University Press.
Mohan, K. P. (2007). The role of person and perceived situation variables leading to job well-being of international school teachers. The Journal of Behavioral Science, 2(1), 130-150.
Mohanty, M. S. (2009). Effects of positive attitude on happiness and wage: Evidence from the US data. Journal of Economic Psychology, 30(6), 884-897.
Mongkol, A., Vongpiromsan, Y., Tangseree, T., Huttapanom, W., Romsai, P. &Chutha, W. (2009). The development and testing of Thai mental health indicator version 2007. Bangkok: The Agricultural Co-operative Federation of Thailand Press.
Mueller, G. & Plug, E. J. S. (2006). Estimating the effect of personality on male and female earnings. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 60(1), 3-22.
National Statistical Office (NSO) of Thailand. (2011). Major findings of the 2008-2010 mental health survey. Bangkok: NSO.
Osborne, M. A. (2000). The power of personality: Labor market rewards and the transmission of earnings. Doctoral Dissertations, University of Massachusetts - Amherst.
Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80(1): 1-28.
Semykina, A. & Linz, S. J. (2007). Gender differences in personality and earnings: Evidence from Russia. Journal of Economic Psychology, 28(3), 387-410.
Suh, E., Diener, E. & Fujita, F. (1996). Events and subjective well-being: Only recent events matter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5), 1091-1102.
Sukin, V. (2008). อิทธิพลของจิตลักษณะและสถานการณ์ในการทำงาน ที่ส่งผลต่อพฤติกรรมการสอนอย่างมีประสิทธิภาพ ของอาจารย์สาขาวิชาวิศวกรรมศาสตร์ [The effects of psychological characteristics and working situations on effective teaching behavior of engineering lecturers.] The Journal of Behavioral Science, 14(1), 1-20.
Tucker, I. B. (2003). Survey of economics. (4th ed.). Thomson/South-Western.
United Nations Statistics Division. (1989).International standard industrial classification of all economic activities, rev.3. Retrieved from http://unstats.un.org/ unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=2
Wooldridge, J. M. (2006). Introductory econometrics: A modern approach. Australia: Thomson/South-Western.