Jsou ekonomové předurčeni k úspěchu? Vliv ekonomického vzdělání na aktivitu studentů na pracovním trhu

Economists are different. Many researches have already confirmed this claim. This bachelor thesis comes with a brand new look at this issue and examines the difference of economists from the majority population based on the student employment criterion. Thesis furthermore discusses the possible origin of these differences, issues of self-selection and indoctrination in particular. On the basis of the comparison of economic students with the non-economic ones, which are represented by the sample of students of electrical engineering fields of study, a significant difference between these two groups of respondents has been proved. Economic students work in more cases and also more hours per week than their peers, while the average number of hours worked in case of future economists does not considerably change over the years of study. The result is that people are born as economists rather than becoming them, hence their differences exists more likely due to selection than indoctrination. The profession of economist is also characterized by relatively above average profits. Taking into account that a career and a good salary are considered by many people as a definition of success, or the determinant of life satisfaction, the part of this thesis follows up with the happiness of economists. Through behavioral manipulation by priming, which makes possible to highlight a certain part of the individual’s identity – the affiliation to the economic profession in this case – has not been claimed the direct influence of the mere fact of being an economist on the happiness of an individual but the identity itself mediates some partial factors that altogether form a happier personality of an economist. Expected future income has indeed proved to be one of the main determinants of student happiness while economics students who undergone manipulation estimates the future income higher than the control group of economists without priming as well as a group representing non-economists.