Leadership skills and wages

Controlling for cognitive skills, we find that men who occupied leadership positions in high school earn more as adults. The pure leadership-wage effect varies, depending on definitions and time period, from 4% to 33%. This effect is not an artifact of measurement error in cognitive skills or differences in a wide array of other physical or psychological traits. High school leaders are more likely to occupy managerial occupations as adults, and leadership skills command a higher wage premium within managerial occupations than elsewhere. Finally, it appears that leadership skills may be fostered by exposure to high school leadership opportunities.