Keywords

Four types of morality, Discipline, Income comparison, Ethical values

Introduction

The consensus is that business activities are built around trust. Although trust in business and morality in employees do not mean the same thing, they are closely connected. Both enhance productivity and have a positive impact on economic development. If trust is critical for business activities, then employees with a higher morality should have relatively higher values in the labor market.

Previous work on this subject includes Heckman and Rubinstein (2001) [1] and Heckman, Stixrud, and Urzua (2006) [2]. These studies empirically analyzed how not only cognitive skills, including reading, writing and mathematics, but also non-cognitive skills, such as communication skills, affect income levels. In another study, Datta and Simonsen (2010) [3] looked at education to improve noncognitive skills in Denmark. They compared seven-year-old children who received this type of education in public educational facilities at age three to those who received it at home.

Weakliem and Frenkel (2006) [4] study the relationship between morale and workplace productivity in Australian workplaces, and show that the effect of morale on productivity is larger when management attempts to develop a corporate ethic and culture. Their study provides us with the important empirical foundation for the relationship between moral and labor market evaluation of workers. Rubin and Brody (2011) [5] focused on the concept of management citizenship behavior and show that managers’ ethical and family-supportive behaviors are essential factors for this concept.

In the present study we conducted the survey of 90,000 randomly selected Japanese adults and investigated the effect of the moral discipline taught during early childhood on current income. Our results indicates that the moral discipline formed during early childhood improves the evaluation of worker in the labor market.

In section 2 we overview the survey conducted. In section3 we study the relationship between the moral disciplines the respondents taught during early childhood and if their educational backgrounds, that is, if levels of education are high or not. In section 4, we assessed the influence of discipline on evaluations in the labor market by comparing the average income of employed respondents based on how they were morally disciplined in certain areas as children. In section 5 we analyze the impact of the type of moral discipline on ethical judgments using a linear multiple regression model. Section 5 concludes the paper.

Overview of the Survey

The survey was conducted from 20 to 24 February 2012 using an online surveying service provided by Goo Research (currently NTT Com Online Marketing Solutions Corporation). Surveys were distributed to 90,000 randomly selected people registered with Goo Research. Of the 16,427 responses collected, 15,949 responses were valid. The collection rate was 18.25%. 52.7% (47.3%) of the total respondents were male (female). Of the respondents, 49.9% had at least a college degree, and the average age was 43.27 years (the standard deviation was 11.78 years). The average income of all the samples was 3,462,500 yen ($28,854) (the standard deviation was 3,292,600 yen ($27,438)).

Early Childhood Moral Discipline and Educational Background

Because moral discipline may impact the normative consciousness of children, we identified if individuals’ educational backgrounds are influenced by the moral discipline taught during childhood. Specifically we used the question, “Do you recall adults telling you any of the following statements when you were young?” (Please select all that apply.) Table 1 shows the statements, such as “greet people” and “be kind to others,” arranged in ascending order of their significance.

Table 1: Exposure to discipline according to the level of educational background. Statistical significance of the difference between the two groups is indicated by * for the 10% level, ** for the 5% level, and *** for the 1% level.

Respondents with undergraduate or graduate degrees were defined as “people with a high level of education” and respondents with other educational backgrounds were defined as “people without a high level of education” in the following discussion. “Follow the rules,” “greet people,” and "study" show a difference in educational backgrounds at the 1% significance level. This shows an interesting result. Namely, the higher the educational level, the more likely that as children they were taught to “follow the rules.” It should also be noted that “greet people” is selected more often among people without a high level of education. “Be kind to others” and “listen to your parents” show a difference in educational backgrounds at the 5% significance level, whereas “do not lie” shows a difference in education backgrounds at the 10% significance level. “Express gratitude” and “speak in loud voice” are statistically the same between educational backgrounds.

In terms of the importance of the four types of moral disciplines (“do not lie,” “be kind to others,” “follow the rules,” and “study”) that are analyzed in the following sections, 55.0% of the respondents who were taught all four areas had a high level of education, while 46.5% of those who were not taught any of them had a high level of education, confirming a statistically significant difference.

Discipline and Income

We assessed the influence of discipline on evaluations in the labor market by comparing the average income of employed respondents based on how they were morally disciplined in certain areas as children.

As shown in Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b), the areas of discipline that have a large impact on how workers are evaluated in the labor market include “do not lie,” “be kind to others,” “follow the rules,” “speak in a loud voice,” and “study.” However, because less than 10% of respondents were taught to “speak in a loud voice”, this cannot be considered important. Thus, "do not lie," "be kind to others," "follow the rules," and "study" are defined as the four basic types of morality here.

Figure 1a a).Average income based on whether morally disciplined.

Figure 1b (b).Average income based on whether morally disciplined.

Figure 2 shows the relationship between people's income and their childhood discipline in these four areas. Those disciplined in all four areas earn 642,000 more yen ($5,350) than those disciplined some of the areas (Figure 2) and 862,000 more yen ($7,183) than those not disciplined in any of the four areas (Figure 3).

Figure 2 Income comparison between those disciplined in all and those disciplined in some of the four morality types.

Figure 3 Income comparison between those disciplined in all and those disciplined in none of the four morality types.

Even among people with the same educational background, how they are evaluated in the labor market and the resulting income levels may differ depending of the extent of moral discipline. Thus, we also analyzed the impact of discipline on income by controlling income by age, gender, and educational background. Table 3 shows the results of multiple regression analysis on the income determinant. In terms of the income determinant, because an explanatory dummy variable for a high educational background is affected by parents’ discipline, the dummy variable is considered to be an endogenous variable. To address this endogeneity, twostage least squares using an instrumental variable correlated with the endogenous variable but independent from error term is introduced. The model is expressed as

Here, subscript i indicates sample i, and Y indicates income. D*e is a dummy for a high educational background where 1 denotes at least an undergraduate degree. X is an attribute vector, and M is a variable on discipline. O is an exogenous variable in a model that affects educational background. Instrumental variables are 1) age, 2) a dummy variable for being male, 3) whether parents or close adults read stories to you as a child, 4) whether parents or a close adult help you study as a child, 5) whether you went on fun family outings as a child, 6) whether you ate dinner without parents as a child, 7) whether you were scolded by close adults other than parents as a child, 8) whether you were spanked by your parents as a child, 9) whether you were taught to greet people, 10) whether you were taught not to lie, 11) whether you were taught to be kind to others, 12) whether you were taught to express gratitude, 13) whether you were taught to listen to parents, 14) whether you were taught to speak in a loud voice, and 15) whether you were taught to follow the rules. α, β, γ, λ, and κ are parameters, and u and e are error terms.

The endogenous variable is a dummy variable for a high educational background, which was estimated using the logit model (Table 2) in the first stage of the two-stage least square estimation. Estimations by the linear multiple regression model and the two-stage least square method yield values similar to each other (Table 3) except for “listen to your parents”, indicating that discipline-related explanatory variables show a greater significance. This similarity suggests the weak instrument. Durbin-Wu-Hausman statistics also indicate endogeneity as well, suggesting that the roles of moral disciplines become clearer by removing endogenous bias from the linear multiple regression models. From these results, we can judge that the significance of the explanatory variables is robust.

Table 2 Average income based on the four "areas of disciplines (unit: 10,000 yen ($83.3)).

Table 3 Results of the multiple regression analysis on income determinant (targeted employed respondents only). (Durbin-Wu-Hausman (DWH) test=40.7, p-value<0.01).

“Do not lie" and "be kind to others" have a positive correlation with income level and they are statistically significant. "Follow the rules" is significant if the one-tailed significance level is 10%. A different interpretation is necessary for "listen to parents" as it is a negative number.

The implications of this analysis is that the labor market places a greater emphasis on following the rules, being honest, being kind to others, and working hard compared to other types of morality. Being honest and working hard are driven from “do not lie” and “study. Also those four affects children to gain the higher educational background. This is related to the findings by Kubota and Ogaki that children who were strictly disciplined during their early childhood tend to study longer

Impact of Discipline on Ethical Values

This section targets 14 behaviors and judgments in society. Although people often make judgments according to general social standards, they may react in a manner that contradicts social standards. Respondents were asked to rate statements on a four-point scale: 1. Disagree, 2. Slightly disagree, 3. Slightly agree, and 4. Agree. Based on their answers, the impact of the type of moral discipline on ethical judgments is analyzed using a linear multiple regression model with explanatory variables. Then standardized coefficients are compared for different types of discipline. Table 4 shows the survey questions and summarizes the statistics of the value judgments.

Table 4 Ethical judgments.

Figure 4 and Table 5 highlight the view, "it's okay to cut in line when in a hurry." People who were taught to "follow the rules" tend to disapprove of "cutting in line even when in a hurry," whereas people who were taught to "be kind to others" or “speak in a loud voice” tend to accept this behavior. It is interesting that those who were taught to "speak in a loud voice" tend to accept this behavior because this type of discipline may lead to the acceptance of selfish behavior and affect testosterone production as pointed out by Zak (2013) [6]. People who were taught to "greet people" tend to disapprove of cutting in line. Greeting can be understood as a positive action of building trust.

Table 5 It's okay to cut in line when in a hurry.

Figure 4 It's okay to cut in line when in a hurry.

Figure 5 and Table 6 show how discipline affects the view, "one shouldn’t drive after consuming alcohol." As shown in Table 4, the mean value is 3.82, which is close to 4. Almost all the respondents support this message, but the standard deviation around 0.6 suggests that a number of people think this behavior is acceptable under some circumstances. Those who were taught to "be kind to others" and “speak in a loud voice” tend to accept drunk driving, whereas those who were taught to "greet people," "follow the rules," or “do not lie” do not approve of drunk driving.

Table 5 It's okay to cut in line when in a hurry.

Figure 5 One shouldn’t drive after consuming alcohol.

Figure 6 and Table 7 show the impact of discipline on the view, "children should look after their elderly parents." All the statistically significant types of discipline tend to support this idea. Although the number of people who actually "look after their parents" is declining, the notion remains that looking after one’s parents is a son or daughter’s duty.?

Table 7 Children should look after their elderly parents.

Figure 6 Children should look after their elderly parents.

Figure 7 and Table 8 show the impact of discipline on the view, "it is unavoidable for politicians to gain concessions or slush funds." As shown in Table 4, the mean value was 1.29, indicating that most respondents disagree with this moral judgment. Those who are taught to "speak in a loud voice" and “be kind to others” tend to be more accepting of corruption in politicians.

Table 8 It is unavoidable for politicians to gain concessions or slush funds.

Figure 7 It is unavoidable for politicians to gain concessions or slush funds.

Figure 8 and Table 9 show the impact of discipline on the view, "unlawful behavior should be reported immediately." Those who were taught to "do not lie" or "follow the rules" tend to agree with this view. Although it is understandable that the latter supports this view, it is interesting to note that "do not lie" has a strong impact as well.

Table 9: Unlawful behavior should be reported immediately.

Figure 8 Unlawful behavior should be reported immediately.

Figure 9 and Table 10 show the impact of discipline on the view, "avoid trouble if possible." Those who were taught to "listen to their parents," "speak in a loud voice," or "study" tend to approve of this message, suggesting that these induce selfish actions. On the other hand, the areas of discipline that induce altruistic actions tend to reject this view.

Table 10: Avoid trouble if possible.

Figure 9 Avoid trouble if possible.

Figure 10 and Table 11 show the impact of discipline on the view, "unwilling to help even if your rival is struggling." Those who were taught to "speak in a loud voice" tend to agree with this idea, indicating that they tend to approve of selfish actions. In contrast, those who were taught to "greet people" do not approve.

Table 11: Unwilling to help even if your rival is struggling.

Figure 10 Unwilling to help even if your rival is struggling.

It is interesting to note that those disciplined to "speak in a loud voice" or "study" support this view. Actions of "speaking in a loud voice" and "studying" are connected to a strong will and a sense of pursuing purposes, suggesting that these lead to the prioritization of selfish value judgments. On the other hand, "being kind to others" is connected to cooperation and trust, leading to altruistic value judgments. If you are taught to take more cooperative actions, you are more likely to offer help when others are struggling.

Figure 11 and Table 12 show the impact of discipline on the view, "tax evasion is unacceptable." In this moral judgment, "speak in a loud voice" and "following the rules" show contrasting judgments, suggesting that "speak in a loud voice" leads to the formation of selfish thinking and value judgment where breaking rules may be acceptable if it achieves a goal. Although “follow the rules” has the greatest value, those who were taught to "greet people" also tend to agree with this statement, suggesting that cultivating sociality may lead to affirmative judgments.

Table 12: Tax evasion is unacceptable.

Figure 11 Tax evasion is unacceptable.

Figure 12 and Table 13 show the impact of discipline on the view, "compliance should be given priority in every situation." Those who were taught to "follow the rules" or "listen to their parents" tend to accept this statement, suggesting that these areas of discipline foster a sense of compliance.

Table 13: Compliance should be given priority in every situation.

Figure 12 Compliance should be given priority in every situation.

To determine how ethical values differ, we compared the group of respondents who were taught in all four areas of moral discipline ("do not lie," "be kind to others," "follow the rules," and "study") to the group who were taught only some of these areas. Both groups were asked to rank statements on the same four-point scale used above. The mean values of the two groups were compared. Table 14 shows the number of samples, mean value, standard deviation, and standard error of each group.

Table 14: Comparison of ethical levels between those who were disciplined in all four areas and those who were disciplined in some areas.

The respondents who were taught in all four areas make ethical judgments at a statistically significant level on all the ethics except for two statements ("it's okay to cut in line when in a hurry" and "it's unavoidable for politicians to gain concessions or slush funds"). The difference in the mean values between the two groups seems negligible. However the number of samples is sufficiently large and the standard deviation is small. Thus, the difference between the two groups is significant. This leads to the observation that those who were taught in all four areas make more ethical judgments.

To further elucidate the difference in ethical values, we divided the respondents into two groups according to whether they were taught all or none of the four areas, and the mean value of each group’s responses were compared. Table 15 shows the number of samples, mean value, standard deviation, and standard error of each group. Respondents who were taught in all four areas make ethical judgments at a more statistically significant level than those who were not taught in any of them on all the ethics related values, except for the statement, "it's unavoidable for politicians to gain concessions or slush funds."

Table 15: Comparison of ethical levels between those who disciplined in all, some, or none of the four areas. Statistical significance of the difference between the groups is indicated by * for 10% level, ** for 5% level, and *** for 1% level.

Conclusion

This study analyzed how discipline is evaluated in the labor market and discussed the social significance of moral discipline. Four areas of moral discipline, "be kind to others," "do not lie," "follow the rules," and "study" have important meanings. The result suggests that teaching children in a way that cultivates altruistic attitudes, fosters trust, and improves sociality will eventually enhance their values in the labor market. This finding is related to the message claimed by Zak (2013) [6] that "interpersonal trust is necessary for economic development." Although Zak used a neuroeconomic methodology to analyze human physiological reaction mechanisms, this study elucidated mechanisms to foster cognitive processes.

Acknowledgement

We thank an anonymous referee for useful comments on the earlier version of the paper. This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research #23000001 and #15H05729.

References

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