U.S. INTRA-STATE GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND STATE FISCAL SHORTFALLS

Abstract

This study extends on personality literature by examining state level variation of the Big Five Personality traits, per-capita GDP and population on US state budget shortfalls. Through the lens of Wildavsky’s Cultural Theory of Budgeting, this study analyzes state level Big Five personality characteristics and their relationship to budgetary shortfalls. Significant relationships between per-capita GDP, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to new experience with state budget gaps were observed. An interaction effect between conscientiousness and agreeableness was also observed. This study links the aggregated individual personality of a state’s population to the outcomes of its policy making. Policy makers benefit from understanding the relationship between the personalities of their constituencies and the nature of the policies they are implementing.