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

This study extends on personality literature by exa mining state level variation of the Big Five Person ality traits, per-capita GDP and population on US state b udget shortfalls. Through the lens of Wildavsky’s Cultural Theory of Budgeting, this study analyzes s tate level Big Five personality characteristics and their relationship to budgetary shortfalls. Signifi cant relationships between per-capita GDP, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and o penness to new experience with state budget gaps were observed. An interaction effect between consci entiousness and agreeableness was also observed. This study links the aggregated individual personal ity 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.