Article

Between Nature and Nurture: The Genetic Overlap between Psychological Attributes and Selection into Public Service Employment

Author

Hailun Liang, Associate Professor, School of Public Administration and Policy, RUC

Abstract

Public administration scholars have had a long-lasting interest in examining individual differences relevant to the attractiveness of public service employment. However, very few studies have explored the genetic underpinnings of these variations. This article builds upon recent behavioral genetics literature and explores whether there are genetic overlaps between psychological attributes and selection into public service employment. We construct the polygenic risk scores (PRSs) on two psychological attributes—neuroticism and positive affect—to model the genetic influence on public service employment in a nationwide UK dataset with 262,795 participants. The results suggest that the PRS of positive affect is a significant predictor of individuals' selection into public service employment, implying that individuals with high innate happiness are more likely to self-select into service work. Taking the existing socialization literature and this result into consideration, our findings support that both nature and nurture factors shape individuals' selection into public service employment.

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