Work

Is Your Career Determined by the Stars? Western Zodiac Signs and Labor Market Outcomes in Germany

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT An increasing share of people believes that zodiac signs predict life outcomes, like career trajectories, even though there is no scientific basis for this claim. Using German administrative data covering more than 11 million observations from 1 million individuals, we investigate whether Zodiac signs determine labor market outcomes. Since Zodiac signs are supposed to affect personality, and personality is associated with wages, Zodiac signs might shape an individual's labor market success in a self‐fulfilling prophecy. Descriptively, we find that Capricorns (born mid‐December to mid‐January) earn, on average, slightly lower wages compared to individuals with other Zodiac signs. When applying a causal regression discontinuity design comparing only individuals born 7 days around the respective cutoffs, we find zero effects of Zodiac signs on wages, education, and managerial status. Given the considerable sample size, the zero effects are likely not caused by low statistical power but show that Zodiac signs do not determine individuals' labor market outcomes.

Source: Kyklos

DOI: 10.1111/kykl.70057

Authors: Matthias Collischon, Florian Zimmermann

Institution: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt und Berufsforschung

Language: English

Topic: Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,800