Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2985135
Margin of Safety: Life History Strategies and the Effects
of Socioeconomic Status and Macroeconomic Conditions
on Self-Selection into Accounting
Justin Leiby*
University of Georgia
Paul E. Madsen
University of Florida
June 2017
*Corresponding Author 310 Herty Drive
255 Brooks Hall Athens, GA 30606 706.542.3596 jleiby@uga.edu
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2985135 1
Margin of Safety: Life History Strategies and the Effects
of Socioeconomic Status and Macroeconomic Conditions
on Self-Selection into Accounting
Abstract: We use experimental and archival evidence to show that people who had low socioeconomic status (SES) as children participate in the U.S. accounting labor market in distinctive and consequential ways. Drawing on life history theory, we predict and show that low SES individuals select into accounting at disproportionately high rates relative to other fields, an effect driven by accounting’s relatively high job security. Supplemental tests are consistent with these low SES individuals being a source of high quality human capital for the accounting profession, as low SES individuals selecting into accounting possess desirable attributes at relatively high rates. From a social perspective, we provide theory and evidence consistent with accounting being an important and secure source of upward social mobility in comparison to other fields. However, recessions cause selection into accounting by low SES individuals to decrease at a higher rate than in other fields, compromising these professional and social benefits. For example, our evidence is consistent with the “low SES effect” improving gender diversity among entrants into the accounting labor market during good economic times. However, lower self-selection rates during recessions are particularly pronounced among low SES females, who may thus bear the brunt of lost professional and social benefits.
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2985135 2
1. Introduction
In this study, we predict and show that people who had low childhood socioeconomic status
(SES)1 participate in the U.S. accounting labor market in distinctive and consequential ways. Accounting careers are relatively secure in that they reward relatively high human capital
investment with stable demand and returns (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015; Madsen 2015). We
draw on life history theory, which concerns the relationship between childhood poverty and
adulthood preferences for security and deferred rewards (Chisholm 1993; Griskevicius et al. 2013),
to predict that low SES individuals 1) disproportionately select into accounting relative to other
fields, 2) possess attributes desired by the accounting profession, and 3) select into accounting at
disproportionately lower rates than other fields during times of macroeconomic uncertainty. Using
experimental and archival evidence, we find support for all three of these expectations.
Our theory and findings have important implications for society and for the accounting
profession. The United States has low socioeconomic mobility relative to other OECD countries
(OECD 2010; Blanden 2013; Mitnik et al. 2015). Even public universities, which graduate many
entry-level accountants, are marred by inequality (Chetty et al. 2017). From a social perspective,
our evidence suggests that selecting into accounting is an effective “ladder” out of poverty.
Relative to other fields, accounting delivers high wages, low wage variability, and high job
security, regardless of SES background, which facilitates upward mobility.
Our evidence further suggests that the accounting profession faces unique risks and
opportunities in the intensifying competition for talent (ACAP 2008; AICPA 2013). Despite
extensive research about accounting’s outputs (e.g., reported earnings), little theory or data exists
3
about accounting’s human capital inputs. Understanding entry-level labor supply is critical for
accounting due to its heavy reliance on young employees and early recruitment strategies (The
Economist 2014). Our theory and evidence suggest that this requires a nuanced understanding of
the preferences of low SES individuals. Driven by preferences for security and long-term human
capital returns, large numbers of talented low SES individuals select into accounting, which
benefits the profession. However, this effect reverses during recessions, during which desirable
low SES individuals disproportionately select away from accounting. Together, these findings
suggest an opportunity for the accounting profession to attract desirable individuals by
emphasizing the security and equal opportunity offered by accounting careers.
We test our research questions with multiple methods. For a controlled test of the
underlying cognitive mechanism, we first conduct an experiment that measures upper-division
accounting students’ intentions to enter the accounting profession, as opposed to common, less
secure alternatives such as finance. Our choice of participant group biases against observing
variation in intentions to enter accounting, as most participants have nearly completed accounting
degrees and have already had one or more internships with accounting firms. Prior to measuring
self-selection intentions, we actively manipulate cues of uncertain macroeconomic conditions by
priming half the participants with a narrative about the effects of recessions, while the other half
read a neutral prime (Griskevicius et al. 2011b). Following a neutral prime, intentions to self-select
into accounting are greater among low, as opposed to high SES individuals. Moreover, the
recession prime decreases intentions to self-select into accounting among low SES individuals, but
increases these intentions among high SES individuals. Consistent with our theorized mechanism,
the self-assessed importance of job security in a profession mediates the joint effect of SES and
4
We next test our research questions using large-sample archival data to demonstrate that
our theorized effects are broadly generalizable. We use data from the Higher Education Research
Institute’s (hereafter, “HERI") surveys on the demographics, degree choices, and families of
millions of college freshmen in the U.S conducted over several decades. In some supplemental
tests, we use a subset of HERI data describing college seniors. Consistent with our experimental
results, accounting disproportionately attracts low SES individuals relative to non-accounting
business fields and to all non-accounting fields.2 This effect holds among college seniors, as well. We also test this effect in recession years, as opposed to non-recession years. Consistent with our
predictions, selection into accounting by low SES individuals decreases in recession years, and
decreases more in accounting than in non-accounting business fields and all non-accounting fields.
Moreover, we conduct multivariate analyses that control for attributes desirable to the
profession, such as diverse demographics. We also gather input from a panel of partners and
managers at multiple public accounting firms about attributes most likely to distinguish successful
accountants, such as academic performance, motivation, and communication skills. Our findings
not only are robust to controlling for these attributes, but also show that low (as opposed to high)
SES individuals selecting accounting possess some of these attributes at higher rates. Low (as
opposed to high) SES individuals who select accounting are similar in academic ability and
motivation but exhibit greater gender diversity, self-confidence, and writing ability. This is
consistent with our theorized effect channeling quality human capital into the profession. This
finding is encouraging for social mobility, as other professional fields such as finance and law
systematically exclude low SES individuals (Rivera 2015).
5
However, our findings also show that recessions decrease low SES self-selection into
accounting more than into other fields. Thus, uncertain economic conditions undermine
accounting’s function as a means of upward mobility for disadvantaged people and undermine an
effect that otherwise channels high quality talent into the profession. In particular, our evidence
suggests that the low SES effect may be particularly effective in improving gender diversity by
attracting females from disadvantaged backgrounds to accounting. However, the recession effect
also disproportionately decreases selection into accounting by low SES females. If low SES
individuals benefit from selecting into accounting, then low SES females disproportionately miss
these benefits during uncertain macroeconomic times. While the low SES effect facilitates upward
social mobility, there may be a “gender gap” in its effects.
We next compare career outcomes in accounting to those in alternative fields. This analysis
can support our theory that accounting is a secure choice, and tests whether or not accounting both
delivers security and does so similarly for low and high SES individuals. We examine mean wages,
wage variance, and unemployment in accounting versus other substitute fields using data from the
National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) by the National Science Foundation. The data
reveal that accounting degrees deliver high mean salaries with low variance, and unemployment
lower than in non-accounting business fields and all non-accounting fields. That is, if people select
accounting because they expect security, then accounting on average fulfills these expectations.
Moreover, the benefits of accounting are more pronounced among low SES individuals, especially
in comparison to finance, which is the most common alternative. This suggests that self-selection
into accounting is a secure choice that can have long-term welfare benefits for low SES individuals.
In sum, our evidence shows that accounting occupies a distinctive niche in the menu of
6
perceive it to be exceptionally safe. Accounting provides a relatively secure entry into a business
career for talented individuals from low SES backgrounds, which is encouraging in light of
evidence of persistent, implicit discrimination against low SES individuals in other professions
(Rivera 2015). Our evidence also suggests that accounting’s distinctive features benefit the
profession by attracting low SES people with attributes desired by the profession. Given the
profession’s (and accounting firms’) investments in broadening accounting’s appeal and
personalizing recruitment to best compete for talent (Jeacle 2008; Carnegie and Napier 2010), it is
inherently important to better understand the vector of attributes that influence a person’s interest
in accounting. Childhood SES is among these attributes.
We also contribute to broader theory on career selection and life history theory. We provide
the first empirical evidence of which we are aware that people are likely to have different life
history strategies that influence how they view their labor market options. Seminal economic
thinkers such as Alchian (1950) and Becker (1976) concurred that insights from evolutionary
biology enrich our understanding of economic choices. As Becker (1976, 818) observes, “the
approach of sociobiologists is highly congenial to economists, since they rely on competition, the
allocation of limited resources…efficient adaptation to the environment, and other concepts also
used by economists.” Career selection is part of the adaptive landscape of contemporary life, and
is thus well suited to interpretation through a life history theory lens. Our study illuminates the
cost / benefit tradeoffs that people make when they choose a profession by showing how and why
early life experiences shape the preferences that drive adult career choices.
2. Background Literature and Theory Development
The accounting profession’s sustainability depends on its capacity to attract human capital
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better understand why people choose to become accountants. Prior literature provides limited
insight into this choice, mostly from exploratory studies of the personality profiles of accounting
students. The evidence suggests that accounting degree programs are dominated by a small subset
of personality types favoring concrete and analytical thinking (Oswick and Barber 1998; Wheeler
2001; Swain and Olsen 2012). In a longitudinal study, Swain and Olsen (2012) find that these
personality types disproportionately begin careers in accounting and remain in accounting jobs,
suggesting that accounting “fits” certain personalities. Also, relative to other fields, accounting
students are more conscientious and interested in making money, yet less creative and less
enthusiastic about their chosen field (Saemann and Crooker 1999; Allen 2004; Madsen 2015).
Blay and Fennema (2017) find that some college students exhibit inherent aptitude for accounting,
but this aptitude does not lead to self-selection into accounting. This suggests that self-selection
may reflect a more complex set of considerations than “personality fit” or inherent skills.
Indeed, we argue that the choice to become an accountant reflects a complex set of
cost-benefit considerations involving broad social and economic forces.3 In particular, identifying the forces that drive self-selection promotes a better understanding not only of the profession’s appeal
to labor market entrants, but also of how this appeal may change in different environments and
potentially of the profession’s broader societal function.
We focus on the impact of a person’s childhood SES on selection into accounting. SES is
important in itself due to its links to social welfare, as identifying professions that represent good
matches for low SES individuals can increase equality and upward socioeconomic movement. SES
8
also links to the diversity of human capital, which professions pursue but have achieved with mixed
success (Abbott 1988; Hammond 2002; Sullivan Commission 2004; Madsen 2013). In general,
low SES individuals confront social and economic barriers to professional success, as low SES is
associated with lower college attendance and higher college dropout rates (DeAngelo et al. 2011;
Chetty et al. 2017). Rivera (2015) reports that low SES college graduates are less likely than their
high SES counterparts to get jobs in elite law, banking, and consulting firms, even when they
graduate from the same institutions and have better grades. In addition to these barriers, low SES
is associated with lower emotional resilience to stress, further diminishing the likelihood of success
in higher education and in difficult jobs (Bowles et al. 2005). In one study of entry-level
accountants, low SES individuals perform as well as their high SES counterparts but exit at higher
rates (Collarelli et al. 1987). The authors offer no explanations for this finding, but it does raise
the possibility that low SES individuals are an underutilized source of quality human capital.
Moreover, this study focuses on SES because a person’s SES likely influences the appeal
of the accounting profession’s relative security, specifically its tradeoff between costs of entry and
relative security. Accounting requires significant investment in human capital, such as Bachelor’s
and sometimes Master’s degrees, certifications, and ongoing education. In turn, the accounting
labor market exhibits persistently low unemployment, stable demand that is robust to economic
conditions, and low wage variance (AICPA 2013; Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015).
We argue that SES affects self-selection into accounting by influencing the compatibility
between these fundamental attributes of accounting and a person’s broader life history strategy. In
the subsections that follow, we discuss life history strategies and the effect of SES on the
composition of the pool of potential entrants into accounting. Because a necessary condition of
9
examine the choice to attend college. As far as we are aware, no existing studies offer theoretical
explanations as to how this costly choice reflects a set of deeper fundamental life history
differences, particularly in low SES individuals. Our theory allows us to better define the potential
labor market entrants over whom accounting and other fields compete. Among this group of
potential entrants, we then examine the choice of accounting over other options.
2.1. Life History Theory and College Attendance
The idea of life history strategies originated in evolutionary biology. This theory seeks to
explain how organisms (including humans) trade off current versus future resource consumption
at different points in their lifespans (Schaffer 1983; Kaplan and Gangestad 2005). While early
applications of life history theory focused on tradeoffs to increase survival odds or reproductive
fitness, over the past two decades this theory has been applied more broadly to understand issues
in the social sciences, including in economics, marketing, psychology, and sociology. For
example, Wang and Dvorak (2010) draw on the theory’s biological roots to examine temporal
discounting, i.e., preferring smaller immediate payoffs over larger future payoffs. The authors find
that temporal discounting decreases in response to an experimental manipulation in which half of
participants consume a soft drink prior to the task—that is, temporarily increasing blood glucose
levels and the subjective sense that daily energy needs are fulfilled affects a common economic
tendency. This is one of many examples in which life history theory and its biological foundations
are useful to understanding contemporary psychological and economic issues.
For our study, career selection is well suited for examination as part of a life history
strategy, because selection is an action generally taken at a given point in the lifespan (i.e., early
adulthood) and involves complex tradeoffs affecting current and future resource acquisition and
10
usage at key points throughout life—such as pursuing post-secondary education versus working
full-time immediately after high school.
Life history strategies vary along a fast/slow continuum (Ellis et al. 2009). Slower (as
opposed to faster) strategies are consistent with longer over shorter horizons, prioritizing saving
over consumption, avoiding over accepting risks, among other distinctions (e.g., Kaplan and
Gangestad 2005; Griskevicius et al. 2013).4 The trajectory towards faster or slower life history strategies begins early in life, with harsher, more uncertain childhood environments—such as those
characterized by low SES or exposure to violence or disease—associated with a trajectory towards
faster strategies (Wilson and Daly 1997; Low et al. 2008; Brumbach et al. 2009; Ellis et al. 2009).5 For example, people from harsher childhood environments follow a faster life history trajectory in
adolescence and adulthood with riskier and earlier sexual activity, higher rates of smoking, and
lower impulse control (Seltzer and Oechsli 1985; Wilson and Daly 1997; Soteriades and DiFranza
2003; Hanson and Chen 2007; Nettle 2010; Hill et al. 2016). These effects extend to economic
decision making, as there are conditions in which people who grew up in harsher environments
have higher rates of credit card debt, are less willing to purchase insurance, and make riskier
investment choices, indicating faster life history strategies (Griskevicius et al. 2011b; 2013; Mittal
and Griskevicius 2016).
Life history theory allows us to develop nuanced predictions about the effect of SES on
selection into accounting. We begin by discussing the effect of low SES on the pool of potential
11
entrants into accounting, i.e., college attendees. Because lower SES implies a disadvantaged
position and thus an initially faster trajectory, having the option to pursue higher education
suggests that a low SES individual has deviated from that trajectory through a series of “slower”
choices as an adolescent. People from poorer backgrounds who have the option to attend college
likely made “slow” tradeoffs to invest in education, delay gratification, and avoid risks in
adolescence in order to overcome their disadvantaged initial position.
For example, Chen and Miller (2012) document a “shift and persist” life history strategy
among some low SES individuals, indicated by high resilience, optimism, and pride in one’s
achievements. Such resilience at younger ages is increasing in intelligence and self-esteem, and
helps low SES individuals manage stress and adapt to social circumstances at older ages (Masten
et al. 1990; Brody et al. 2013). This is consistent with evidence that low SES is positively
associated with pursuing a college education among those who exhibit resilience, e.g., by holding
jobs and demonstrating financial responsibility during adolescence (Brumbach et al. 2009).
Thus, we argue that, among college attendees, the distribution of life history strategies is
likely narrower when SES is low, because the initial advantages of high SES offer more wiggle
room for risky or myopic choices, yet retain opportunities such as higher education. Consequently,
college attendees are likely to have followed slower life history strategies than have non-attendees,
and this difference is likely to be significantly greater when SES is low. This enriches existing
literature, which generally observes that higher SES and educational attainment individually are
associated with positive health and life outcomes, but does not examine interactive effects.
We predict that the opportunity to choose to go to college likely signals that a person from
a poorer socioeconomic background has had a slower life history strategy in the past, as indicated
12
likely that pursuing college is a more credible signal of life history strategies among people from
poorer, as opposed to wealthier backgrounds. This leads to our first hypothesis,
Hypothesis 1: College attendees’ choices are more consistent with slower life history strategies than those of non-attendees, and this difference is greater for lower, as opposed to higher SES individuals.
2.2. Life History Theory and Self-Selecting into Accounting over Other Options
Among fields requiring a college education, choosing accounting over other options
represents a relatively slow strategy. Jobs in the accounting profession often require incremental
human capital investments, in the form of a master’s degree, certification (e.g., CPA, CMA), and
continuing professional education. In turn, accounting offers incremental short- and long-term
security in the form of low unemployment, stable demand, and salaries that deliver comparable
returns to other business fields (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015; Madsen 2015).
Based on the development of hypothesis one, the set of potential entrants into the
accounting labor market comprises low SES individuals with predominately slow life history
strategies, in addition to high SES individuals who have a broader array of strategies. Thus, all
else equal, we predict that low SES is likely to increase the likelihood of self-selection of college
attendees into accounting—that is, low SES individuals will be disproportionately represented in
accounting relative to the set of all other fields. This leads to our second hypothesis:
Hypothesis 2: Low SES individuals select into accounting to a greater degree than non-accounting business fields and all non-non-accounting fields.
2.3. The Moderating Effect of Recessions
The effect of SES on self-selection into accounting is likely to differ across good and bad
economic conditions. Although life history strategies develop early, they are not fixed and their
trajectories can change in response to cues in a person’s current environment (Griskevicius et al.
13
response to indicators of potential changes in resource availability or life expectancy (e.g.,
recessions, crime rates).
Childhood SES affects how people re-calibrate preferences based on environmental cues,
and does so throughout childhood and adulthood (Ellis et al. 2009; Griskevicius et al. 2011b).
Among adults, lower childhood SES is associated with lower perceived control over one’s
environment (Chen and Miller 2012; Mittal and Griskevicius 2014) and lower impulse control
capabilities (Kochanska et al. 2001; Hill et al. 2016). Also, low childhood SES is associated with
poor health outcomes among adults, and this association is driven by childhood SES but not
adulthood SES (Currie and Stabile 2003; Cohen et al. 2004; Hanson and Chen 2007). Hackman et
al. (2010) discuss evidence of biological and physiological differences between people who grew
up with low, as opposed to high SES. This includes fMRI evidence of different brain structures for
areas involved with problem-solving and threat detection.
In other words, people are physically and psychologically sensitized to the conditions that
they observe during childhood. If a person observes adverse conditions like resource scarcity while
making a key decision, then the person’s choice is likely to re-calibrate towards the trajectory
adopted in childhood, i.e., when facing adverse conditions, poorer (wealthier) backgrounds lead to
choices consistent with faster (slower) strategies.
Thus, we expect an interactive effect of SES and macroeconomic conditions on
self-selection into accounting. Although a person from a poorer background may have altered
trajectories during adolescence towards a slower strategy and investment in education, the
14
whether they make the choice in benign, as opposed to uncertain economic conditions.6 There is ample evidence to support this logic. In a series of experiments, Griskevicius et al. (2013) find that
people who grew up in poorer environments exhibit greater risk-taking and temporal discounting
when they observe cues of resource scarcity, as opposed to neutral cues. By contrast, these
behaviors decrease when childhood SES is high. Similarly, observing cues of current
environmental uncertainty decreases low SES individuals’ impulse control, willingness to delay
consumption, and willingness to purchase insurance, but has opposite effects among high SES
individuals (Griskevicius et al. 2011b; 2013; Mittal and Griskevicius 2014; 2016).
Applied to our setting, uncertain macroeconomic conditions like recessions are likely to
weaken preferences for the relatively slow attributes of accounting among those low SES
individuals who have already entered college and are, therefore, in the set of potential entrants into
accounting. That is, while low SES is likely to increase the preference for accounting in benign
economic conditions, it is likely to decrease this preference in uncertain macroeconomic
conditions. Thus, we predict an interaction in which the effect of SES on self-selection into
accounting depends on whether or not there is a recession, i.e., conditions of resource scarcity.
Hypothesis 3: Selection into accounting among low SES individuals decreases in uncertain, as opposed to benign macroeconomic conditions. This effect is stronger in accounting than in non-accounting business fields and all non-accounting fields.
15
3. Tests of H1—Life History Strategies of College Attendees versus Non-Attendees
3.1. Data
Data for testing H1 are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY).7 The NLSY is a survey of roughly 10,000 randomly-selected Americans born between 1957 and 1964.
It begins in 1979 and has been updated 24 times through 2012 to track participants’ ongoing labor
market activities and other significant life events. This dataset captures educational and career
activities, as well as self-reported lifestyle attributes and choices. It is an ideal dataset for testing
H1, because it allows linkage between indicators of early childhood SES, adolescent and adult
lifestyle attributes, and educational and career choices.
3.2. Variables
College attendee is our proxy for a person’s choice to pursue a college degree. We define
a college attendee as a respondent in the NLSY who had completed at least four years of college
by the age of 26.8 To proxy for low SES, we identified respondents whose parents had not attended any college when the survey began in 1979. Parental education level is a widely-accepted proxy
of SES, as it is positively associated with income and negatively associated with student loan debt
and full-time work as a source of tuition assistance (DeAngelo et al. 2011).
To find proxies for life history strategy speed, we search for variables that are both
available during the appropriate time in participants’ lives (late adolescence and early adulthood
when people also make career decisions) and relevant to our theory. We find five variables from
the NLSY that are available in relevant years and that theory suggests will be sensitive to the speed
7 See http://www.bls.gov/nls/nlsy79.htm and Appendix B for more information about the NLSY. We use the NLSY in tests of H1 but not in other tests, because the NLSY does not measure the degrees pursued by respondents attending college and graduating from college.
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of a life history strategy. We use average age at first marriage, with older ages signifying a slower
strategy (Chisholm 1993, 9); average age at birth of first child, with older ages signifying a slower
strategy (Griskevicius et al. 2011b, Nettle 2010); average number of children, with fewer children
signifying a slower strategy (Nettle 2010); whether the respondent has smoked daily at any time in
their life, with not smoking signifying a slower strategy (Petridou et al. 1997; Hill and Chow 2002);
and the age at which the respondent began smoking daily, with older ages signifying a slower
strategy (Petridou et al. 1997; Hill and Chow 2002).
3.3. Results
We use a difference in difference analysis to test H1. Using the variables above, we
partition the sample into four groups: 1) college non-attendees who are low SES, 2) college
attendees who are low SES, 3) college non-attendees who are high SES, and 4) college attendees
who are high SES. H1 is supported by larger differences between college attendee and
non-attendee differences when socioeconomic status is low than when it is high, i.e., the difference
between groups (1) and (2) is greater than the difference between groups (3) and (4).
Table 1 shows that all five slower life history strategy proxies are consistent with low SES
college attendees being significantly more likely than low SES college non-attendees to have made
choices consistent with a slow life history strategy (all p ≤ 0.02).9 Further, there are five difference in differences in Table 1 to test whether the difference between college attendees and
non-attendees is greater for low SES than for high SES. The difference between college attendees and
college non-attendees is significantly greater for low SES respondents than for high SES
respondents on four of the five measures (p ≤ 0.09). The result for smoked daily is directionally
consistent with our predictions but not statistically significant (p = 0.13).
17
Our results support H1 that college attendees from low SES backgrounds have especially
slow life history strategies. Further, among college attendees, our results are consistent with low
SES individuals exhibiting even slower strategies than high SES individuals on average number of
children (p = 0.03) and smoked daily (0.07). Thus, the pool of low SES people minimally eligible
to select into accounting are predominately those with slow life history strategies. This point is
critical in examining determinants of entry into accounting, as we theorize that distinguishing
features of accounting likely make it appealing to people pursuing slower strategies.
4. Experimental Tests of H2 and H3 – SES and Self-Selection into Accounting
We test H2 and H3 using multiple methods due to the paucity of data on self-selection and
the complex array of factors that could influence this decision. To maximize the internal validity
of our inferences, we first test these hypotheses with an experiment using upper-division
accounting students. In particular, we use priming procedures to actively manipulate cues of
macroeconomic uncertainty (i.e., recession versus neutral) and randomly assign participants to
observe recession versus neutral primes. Because we cannot actively manipulate SES, the
experiment only allows us to make associational claims about H2. However, randomly assigning
participants to different primes does allow us to make strong causal inferences about H3,
specifically, the effects of the recession prime on career intentions within a given level of SES
(e.g., how do low SES individuals respond to recession, as opposed to neutral primes?).
4.1. Participants and Procedures
Experimental participants (n = 245) are business students recruited from accounting classes
at a large public university in the Southeast United States, of which 209 (85.3%) were accounting
majors. The sample comprises 51 (20.8%) freshmen and sophomores, 87 (35.5%) juniors, 47
18
a 600-word story that contained our priming manipulation (described below). To ensure that
participants attended to the prime and did not believe that the prime was related to their career
intention judgment, the instructions directed participants to assume that the prime was “like a
memory task” and that there would be questions about the story at the end of the study. After
reading the story, participants completed a series of questions about their career intentions,
answered manipulation and attention check questions, and answered questions about their
childhood and current SES. To avoid deception, we included memory questions about the story to
follow through on the statement in the materials that the story was like a memory task.
4.2. Variables
4.2.1. Recession prime
In the recession prime condition, participants read a story about economic hardships
confronted by recent college graduates. The story—titled “Tough Times Ahead: The New
Economics of the 21stCentury”—was formatted to look like a news article and was adopted from Griskevicius et al. (2011b and 2013). In brief, the story focused on economic hardships confronted
by recent college graduates, including skyrocketing student loan debt, intense labor market
competition, increasing food and energy costs, and diminishing funds for government social
support programs. In the control condition, the story (also adopted from Griskevicius et al. 2011b
and 2013) was designed to elicit similar levels of negative arousal. 10 The story focused on a person spending several hours looking for keys around their house. We could have used a neutral prime
that described good economic conditions, but that would have risked manipulating negative
arousal along with macroeconomic cues.
19
As manipulation checks, we asked participants in each condition to rate the extent to which
the story made them believe the world will become (1) more unsafe, (2) more unpredictable, and
(3) more uncertain. Participants’ responses in the recession condition were higher than those in the
control condition on all three measures (all p < 0.01), but did not differ on measures of negative
arousal such as anger, frustration, or stress that could influence the career intention judgment. This
indicates a successful manipulation that varied the uncertainty of the environment, but held
constant levels of negative arousal that could influence our measures. See Appendix A.
4.2.2. SES
To capture SES, we asked participants to report whether or not they are a first generation
college student. We classified participants as low SES if they reported having no parent(s) or
guardian(s) with a college degree and as high SES if they reported at least one parent or guardian
with a college degree.11
Self-Selection into Accounting
We measured our primary dependent variable on a 100-point scale that asked participants
to assess the likelihood that they intend to pursue a career in accounting. The instrument also asked
participants to rate the likelihood with which they intend to pursue careers in close substitute fields
such as finance, investment banking, or consulting. In addition, participants assessed the
importance of five characteristics of a job / career: job security, high earnings, likeable colleagues,
interesting work, and maximizing future opportunities.
20 4.3. Results
4.3.1. Tests of H2 and H3
H2 predicts that low SES individuals are more likely to select into accounting. H3 predicts
that uncertain macroeconomic conditions, of which recessions are a common contemporary
indicator, will decrease self-selection into accounting by people from poorer backgrounds. To test
this, we conduct a 2 (Prime: recession, control) X 2 (Childhood SES: low, high) Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) with the assessed likelihood of pursuing a career in accounting as the
dependent measure. See Table 2 for ANOVA results and descriptive statistics.
Consistent with H2, in the neutral prime condition, intentions to select into accounting are
higher when SES is low, as opposed to high (78.00 versus 63.62, F1,241 = 8.02, p < 0.01). Further, the interaction predicted by H3 is significant (F1,241 = 8.42, p < 0.01). Specifically, observing the recession prime decreased the likelihood of pursuing a career in accounting when SES is low
(63.95 versus 78.00, F1,241 = 5.75, p = 0.02). Interestingly, though we had no hypothesis for how the prime would affect high SES individuals, Table 2, Panel C shows that observing the recession
prime marginally increased the likelihood of pursuing a career in accounting in this group (70.57
versus 63.63, F1,241 = 7.29, p = 0.10).12 Thus, H2 and H3 are supported, and the data are consistent with our hypothesized interaction being a causal effect.
4.3.2. Supplemental Test of the Mediating Effect of Job Security
To provide further corroboration of the cognitive process that underlies our effects, we
examine participants’ ratings of the importance of job security to their career decision. Our theory
21
argues that H2 and H3 occur because low SES college students follow slow strategies in benign
conditions but adopt faster strategies in uncertain conditions. If our theory is valid, then SES and
recession jointly affect a person’s likelihood of self-selection into accounting because they jointly
affect the importance of job security to that person. That is, our interaction is likely to have an
indirect effect on self-selection, via differences in the importance of job security.
Following the recent statistics literature, we test the significance of the indirect effect using
a bootstrapping technique (Preacher and Hayes 2008; Hayes and Preacher 2013). Because our
independent variable is an interaction term, we follow the guidance of Hayes and Preacher (2013)
to create a multi-categorical independent variable using the linear weights for the interaction
term.13 We use 5000 bootstrap re-samples of the data to calculate bias-corrected confidence intervals for the total indirect effect. Significance is indicated by confidence intervals that do not
include zero. In our analysis, there is a significant indirect effect of life history strategy on
self-selection into accounting, which is mediated by the assessed importance of job security (lower CI
= 0.75, higher CI = 9.86). See Figure 1. Thus, our data support the conclusion that the SES by
recession prime interaction affects self-selection into accounting because it affects the importance
of job security.
5. Archival Tests of H2 and H3 – SES and Self-Selection into Accounting
We now turn to tests of H2 and H3 using large-sample archival evidence to provide comfort
about the generalizability of our findings.
22 5.1. Sample
We obtain data from the Higher Education Research Institute’s (HERI) Freshman Surveys,
which contain data collected from millions of incoming college freshmen annually since 1971
(UCLA 2013). The surveys describe how students choose which college to attend as well as their
demographics, high school academic and extracurricular activities, opinions on a wide array of
topics, values, and the field in which they intend to earn a degree. HERI data from 1971 to 1999
are available to all registered users of HERI’s website in an archive file. More recent data are
available for purchase contingent on approval from HERI. In this study, we use subsets of HERI
data from the archive as well as data purchased for 2000 and 2002.14 We conduct our main tests using subsets of years from 1971-2002 for which our variables are available.15 The sample size in our main tests is 125,125 accounting observations, 407,235 non-accounting business observations,
and 2,993,954 non-accounting observations.16
In addition, to test the robustness of H2 and to perform certain supplemental analyses
(described later), we also obtain a subset of the HERI database that collects responses both when
individuals were freshman and when they were seniors. This dataset is only available from 1994
– 1999, thus tests using the senior data have lower statistical power than tests using the freshman
dataset. Also, no recessions occurred during 1994 – 1999, thus we cannot use it to test H3.
14 The 2000 and 2002 samples differ somewhat from the earlier samples because HERI was unwilling to release the entire database to us. Rather, for 2000 and 2002 HERI provided us with all observations of students selecting any business field and a random sample of observations representing students selecting non-business fields.
15 See http://www.heri.ucla.edu/abtcirp.php and Appendix B for more information about HERI variables and data availability.
23 5.2. Variables
5.2.1. Self-selection into accounting
To test self-selection into accounting, we partition our sample into students planning to
major in accounting and those not planning to major in accounting. This is a reliable predictor of
selection into accounting jobs (Madsen 2015). We use two comparison groups to test our
hypothesis. We test self-selection into accounting against “non-accounting business” fields
(business administration, finance, international business, marketing, management, and other
business) and against “all non-accounting” fields (the set of all non-accounting fields).
5.2.2. SES
We manually search the HERI codebook and identify three measures of childhood SES
that are both available throughout the whole sample period and relevant indicators of low SES.
They are 1) whether or not the respondent indicated that cheap tuition was “very important” to
them when selecting a college, as prior research has shown that low SES students are particularly
sensitive to tuition costs (Heller 1997, 638-642); 2) whether or not the respondent is a first
generation college student, as first generation college students come from poorer families on
average (Terenzini et al. 1996, 8-9), and whether or not the respondent’s estimate of their parental
income is in the bottom third of the sample for that year, which is a direct measure of respondents’
perceptions about relative household income.17 For each of these measures, we create a dummy variable equal to 1 for values representing low SES and 0 otherwise.18 We then sum these three
24
dummy variables to create a low SES index. Higher values of the low SES index indicate lower
SES. Our main tests involve comparing values of the low SES index for students who have selected
accounting degrees against values for students selecting other degrees.
Table 3, Panel A sorts all fields in the HERI freshman database based on our low SES index
in recession and non-recession years, with higher values indicating higher representation of low
SES individuals. Accounting stands out relative to other fields and to business fields in particular,
ranking 11th overall out of 76 fields in low SES. These results suggest that accounting is by far the most appealing business field to low SES individuals, versus management (35th), business administration (39th), marketing (69th), and finance (70th). Table 3, Panel B shows that accounting has the 12th largest decline in the low SES index in recession years. All other business fields experience smaller declines in the low SES index during recession years, as no other business field
ranks higher than 38th in the magnitude of the decline (Finance). Indeed, accounting appears to occupy a unique niche among business fields and among most fields in general.19
5.2.3. Uncertain Economic Conditions
Our proxy for uncertain economic conditions is a year in which a recession occurred. We
partition the sample period into recession years and non-recession years. Recession is an indicator
for any year that includes at least one month classified by the National Bureau of Economic
Research as a recession month. Recession years during our sample period are 1973-1975,
1980-1982, and 1990-1991.
25 5.3. Results
5.3.1. Hypothesis 2 – Univariate Tests of the Effect of SES on self-selection into accounting
Table 4, Panel A presents univariate analyses. It provides mean values for each of our low
SES indicators, both separately and when aggregated, in accounting, other business fields, and all
non-accounting fields. H2predicts that a low SES background is positively associated with
self-selection into accounting. Consistent with H2, accounting students have higher values than
non-accounting students for each of our low SES indicators. These differences are even larger when
comparing accounting to other business fields. Table 4, Panel A also presents the univariate results
among college seniors. Because people from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to drop
out of college before they become seniors, all three low SES indicators are lower in the senior
dataset than in the freshman dataset. The senior dataset also has substantially smaller sample sizes
and lower statistical power. Notwithstanding these limitations that bias against our findings, H2 is
robust among college seniors. Thus, our univariate analyses support H2.
5.3.2. Hypothesis 2 – Multivariate Tests of the Effect of SES on self-selection into accounting
Table 4, Panel B presents results of a logit analysis that predicts the likelihood of selecting
into accounting based on SES, which we estimate separately during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and
2000s (only the years 2000 and 2002 due to data limitations) to illustrate the effect’s robustness
over time. We estimate the following model:
Select Accounting (0 or 1) = α + β1*lowSES + β2*Female + β3*Minority + β4*GPA + β5*Drive + β6*Self-confidence intelligence + β7*Self-confidence social + β8*Writing + ε (1)
Our primary variable of interest is lowSES and we predict a positive effect for this variable,
i.e., an odds ratio greater than one. We report coefficients in the form of odds ratios, which are
26
the effects of a given variable. In brief, odds ratios represent the number of people in our sample
with a given attribute choosing accounting for every one person choosing a business degree (under
the heading “freshmen: accounting versus non-acctg business students”) or any other degree
(under the heading “freshmen: accounting versus all non-acctg students”). Table 4, Panel B also
shows similarly calculated results for college seniors (under the “seniors” heading).
To select control variables, we collected input from seven senior managers and partners in
public accounting firms about desired attributes that lead to success in an accounting career. We
presented each person with a list of 16 items from the HERI survey that we expected could be
related to success and asked each person to select the five that are most likely to lead to success in
accounting. We control for variables that were selected by a majority of respondents. Specifically,
we include GPA on a four-point scaleas a proxy for academic ability (high school GPA for college
freshmen and college GPA for college seniors), an indicator variable for above average
self-assessed drive as a proxy for motivation, indicator variables for above average self-assessed
intellectual and social self-confidence, and an indicator variable for above average self-assessed
writing ability as a proxy for writing skills. We also include indicator variables for Female and for
membership in a disadvantaged minority race or ethnicity, which we label Minority and includes
Black, Hispanic, and American Indian people. We include Female and Minority to provide insight
into the relation between our effect and the diversity of the accounting labor pool. See Appendix
B for details about the variables.20
The results in Table 4, Panel B support the idea that low childhood SESsignificantly and
positively predicts the likelihood of selecting into accounting in each of the sample periods. Thus,
27
multivariate analyses support H2. These analyses show that our effect is also robust to controlling
for race, gender, academic ability, self-confidence, motivation, and writing ability. The results also
indicate a few potentially problematic patterns for accounting. While GPA is positively associated
with accounting in every sample period and relative to both business and non-business fields,
individuals selecting accounting appear to possess lower social self-confidence and writing ability.
We explore these issues in Section 6.1 to examine whether or not the low SES effect may help
overcome some deficits in the entry-level accounting labor pool. Life history theory suggests this
is possible, as those adopting slower life history strategies tend to be highly capable. Because low
SES individuals have different life experiences than their high SES counterparts, they may also
possess high levels of different capabilities and thus improve the quality of the entry-level
accounting labor pool.21
5.3.3. Hypothesis 3 – SES in recessions and non-recessions
The HERI data also permit us to provide large-sample analysis of H3, which predicts that
recessions decrease preferences for accounting when SES is low, and do so to a greater degree in
accounting than in other fields. Our univariate analysis of H3 is presented in Table 5, Panel A.
28
We conduct a difference in difference test that compares the decline in the low SES index in
recession, as opposed to non-recession years in accounting to the decline in other fields. The results
show that low SES representation on average drops in accounting, in other business fields, and in
all other fields during recession years. This is consistent with recessions more negatively affecting
rates of college attendance among people with fewer economic resources. However, the decline in
low SES representation is larger in accounting than in other business fields (p < 0.01) and in the
set of all other fields (p < 0.01). Thus, the results support H3.22
We report multivariate analysis of H3 in Table 5, Panel B, which is based on the model:
Select Accounting (0 or 1) = α + β1*lowSES + β2*lowSES*Recession + β3*Recession+ β4*Female + β5*Minority + β6*GPA + β7*Drive + β8*Self-confidence intelligence + β9*Self-confidence social + β10*Writing + time period dummies + ε (2)
Our primary variable of interest is the lowSES*Recession interaction. We expect this
interaction effect to be negative, i.e., an odds ratio lower than 1. The control variable definitions
are the same as in equation (1). Because there are time trends that affect our variables of interest,
including fewer first generation college students and increasing popularity of business fields in
general, we also include dummy variables for each five-year time period in our sample to ensure
that our analyses are not confounded by time effects. The reference time period to interpret each
time period effect is 1971 – 1975, i.e., each time period effect tests the interest in accounting in
that time period relative to interest in 1971 – 1975.23
22 Ideally, we would also be able to explicitly identify the fields chosen by people who might otherwise select into accounting. However, we are unable to capture this data, even with our dataset of seniors that allows us to observe switches between fields. First, the senior dataset only includes years in which there were no recessions, thus we could not observe differences in substitutes between recession and non-recession years. Second, this dataset only captures alternatives to accounting for those who actually remained in college, and earning a degree is an inherently slower strategy than dropping out. Thus, the data will understate the life history speed of alternatives, and this understatement is likely stronger among low SES individuals, who are more likely to drop out of college.
23 We use time period dummies instead of year fixed effects because Recession is defined at the year level. In each model, the odds ratios for selecting accounting decrease over time. For example, for every person selecting
29
As predicted, the results show a negative interaction effect in which low SES interest in
accounting is lower in recession years, and this decrease is greater in accounting than it is in
business fields and in the set of all fields. This interaction is striking because, in both columns of
Table 5 Panel B, Recession is associated with higher interest in accounting. That is, interest in
accounting among low SES individuals is lower during times when overall interest in accounting
is higher. We argue that this is due to people from poorer backgrounds adopting faster trajectories
in their life history strategies when they observe cues of economic uncertainty. Importantly, if the
recession interaction effect simply reflected fewer low SES individuals in college during
recessions due to lower application rates or higher dropout rates, then lower SES representation in
accounting would not differ from that of other fields. Thus, our multivariate analyses support H3.
In sum, these archival analyses provide evidence both that our theorized relations
generalize in a large-sample dataset of millions of real choices and that the effects are robust over
time. Low SES individuals disproportionately prefer accounting because it is consistent with a
slow life history strategy. However, recessions affect patterns of selection into accounting
differently than other fields, as the preference for accounting by low SES individuals
disproportionately weakens.
6. Supplemental Analyses
In this section, we explore the potential implications of our findings for the profession and
for low SES individuals. Specifically, our supplemental analyses first examine implications for the
quality of human capital entering accounting, i.e., under what conditions do our theorized effects
have benefits for accounting? We then examine job outcomes of those who select into accounting
and of low SES individuals who select accounting, as opposed to other fields. This provides some
30
evidence as to whether or not accounting is a slow life history choice relative to common
alternatives, and whether the benefits of a slow life history strategy materialize similarly for low
SES individuals and high SES individuals. If our theory suggests that accounting attracts entrants
because of its security, then this analysis helps identify if accounting delivers this security.
6.1. Implications for the Quality and Diversity of Human Capital Entering Accounting
6.1.1. Low SES, Self-Selection, and Human Capital
We first examine implications of our effects for the quality of human capital in the
entry-level accounting labor pool. To do so, we analyze equation (1) at each possible entry-level of lowSES to
examine if any of the desirable human capital attributes vary with low SES.24 Recall that the
lowSES values indicate how many of three low SES indicators a person possesses, thus SES is
lower as the number of lowSES indicators increases. The first noteworthy finding is that the data
are consistent with the low SES effect increasing gender diversity in the accounting labor pool. As
shown in Table 6 at the lowest SES level (lowSES = 3), 1.455 women select accounting for every
woman who selects another business field and 1.149 women select accounting for every woman
who selects another non-business field. By contrast, women from wealthier backgrounds tend to
select accounting at disproportionately low rates.
In addition, recall that the results in Table 4 Panel B identified potential deficits in the
accounting labor pool. Our expert panel identified writing skills and self-confidence as critical to
distinguishing successful performers in accounting, but the results show that accounting entrants
lag in these categories. However, Table 6 suggests individuals selecting accounting possess higher
levels of these attributes as lowSES increases, relative to business fields and to other fields. In
31
brief, the results indicate that the quality of the entry-level accounting labor pool benefits from the
low SES effect.25
6.1.2. Do Recessions Undermine Human Capital Benefits for Accounting?
If the low SES effect channels quality talent into accounting, then H3 could naturally
decrease representation of this talent and have negative implications for accounting. To assess
implications of H3, we analyze a version of equation (2) which has been modified to include
interactions of the Recession indicator variable with our control variables at each possible level of
lowSES. As shown in Table 6 Panel B, two noteworthy effects emerge from this analysis. First,
the odds ratios for the Female*Recession interaction are less than one across many levels of
lowSES, particularly when the comparison group is all non-accounting degrees.
Thus, the recession effect disproportionately reduces the representation of females from
poorer backgrounds. That is, the low SES effect appears to increase gender diversity in accounting
but uncertain economic conditions reverse this positive effect. This may suggest that bad economic times undermine accounting’s potential to act as a secure path to business careers for women from
poor backgrounds. That is, a gender gap may exist in the potential for accounting to elevate those
from poorer backgrounds. Future research into this possibility is warranted.
Second, there is a significant GPA*Recession interaction with an odds ratio greater than
one for most levels of SES. This appears to benefit accounting on the surface, as academic ability
increases relative to other business fields and to all other fields. We rerun equation (2) at each level
of reported GPA in the HERI data in order to more deeply examine whether this effect is likely to
32
benefit accounting. In Table 6 Panel C, the results are not definitive, as the lowSES*Recession
interaction effect is negative for students averaging a B or B+, but positive for students averaging
an A-. It is not significant at any other GPA levels. That is, recessions appear to negatively affect
selection into accounting among low SES individuals with above average, though not exceptional
ability.
This finding may reflect subtle differences in how capability can affect a person’s life
history strategy. Those with above average ability may fear being squeezed out by high ability
individuals, and thus lack confidence that they will be able to experience deferred rewards. As a
result, low SES individuals in this group may revert towards a faster life history strategy when
they observe resource scarcity cues, in order to “get what they can when they can.”
6.2. Career Outcomes - Evidence that Accounting is Part of a Slow Life History Strategy
The remainder of our analyses focus on providing evidence that accounting is, in fact, a
slow life history strategy relative to potential substitutes. Further, we examine whether low SES
individuals selecting accounting realize the benefits of a slow life history strategy—that is, does
accounting deliver on expectations? To address this question, we compare job outcomes of
accounting degree holders to three comparison groups: (1) finance degree holders, (2) other
business degree holders, and (3) non-business degree holders. For brevity, we provide details on
our sample and methodology in Appendix C, and summarize our findings here.
As indicators of a slow life history strategy, we examine whether accounting delivers
relatively high mean wages with low wage variance, low unemployment, and high job security.
Table 7 reports career outcome results for those whose highest degree is a Bachelor’s degree in
33
depicting the full sample and the right columns depicting the low SES sample only. Our low SES
proxy is first generation college students.
The data support our central theoretical assumption that accounting reflects a relatively
slow life history strategy. Accounting has a relatively high mean salary with a relatively low
standard deviation, which suggests that accounting degrees lead to relatively high “wage floors.”
Moreover, accounting degree holders have unemployment that is lower than in finance, other
business fields, and non-business fields. In general, our results indicate that, accounting careers on
average deliver the attributes of a slow life history strategy. The data are roughly consistent in the
full sample of accounting degree holders and the sample of only low SES individuals, suggesting
that low SES accountants do not experience worse labor market outcomes.
This contrasts with a striking pattern in finance, which is a common alternative to
accounting. The data suggest that Master’s degrees in finance deliver substantial rewards, but not
for low SES individuals. Low SES Master’s degree holders compare unfavorably to other finance
Master’s degree holders in mean earnings ($66,989 versus $87,826) and unemployment (9.88%
versus 4.52%). By contrast, low SES Master’s degree holders in accounting are comparable to other accounting Master’s degree holders in terms of wages ($65,866 versus $68,552) and
unemployment (0.77% versus 0.93%).
A plausible explanation is that maximizing the benefits of a Master’s degree in finance
requires the type of social capital (i.e., relationships with well-connected people) that low SES
individuals possess at lower rates. This is consistent with research by Rivera (2015) that hiring
practices of financial institutions systematically favor those from wealthier backgrounds. By
contrast, social capital may not be as important in realizing the benefits of an accounting degree.
34
accounting’s faster, most common alternative. If a low SES individual wants to compete on an
equal playing field in a business career, then accounting is a relatively safe and effective choice.
7. Conclusions and Future Research Directions
The accounting profession is dependent on the supply of entry-level human capital into the
labor market, but little is known about the determinants of self-selection into accounting. This
study uses multiple methods and datasets to examine why people self-select into accounting,
focusing on how self-selection depends on SES and the economic conditions at the time of
selection. We explain our findings through the lens of life history strategies, drawn from
evolutionary biology and psychology.
We find that low SES college attendees, i.e., the pool of minimally-qualified individuals to
enter accounting, follow predominately slow life history strategies. That is, they make choices
consistent with long-term security. Consequently, our experimental and archival evidence shows
that low SES individuals disproportionately self-select into accounting relative to non-accounting
business fields and all non-accounting fields. However, low SES individuals are less likely to
select accounting in recession, as opposed to non-recession years, and this effect is stronger in
accounting relative to non-accounting business fields and all non-accounting fields. Our evidence
suggests that this joint effect on self-selection is driven by the importance of job security. Further,
supplemental analyses show that accounting careers deliver the benefits of slow life history
strategies to low SES individuals, in the form of high mean wages, low wage variation, and low
unemployment. In sum, our study sheds light on part of accounting’s unique position in the job
market, specifically, as a secure path for low SES individuals to enter professional fields.
Accounting’s potential role as a socioeconomic “ladder” is important for labor market
35
possibly unintended discrimination against low SES individuals in professional fields such as law
and consulting (Rivera 2015), even by firms with good records of achieving racial and gender
diversity. For social welfare, identifying the life history attributes of different professions and
occupations can help identify hidden barriers to entry against low SES individuals. Examining
“slow” fields may illuminate paths to upward mobility by low SES individuals, and examining
“fast” fields (e.g., finance) may identify obstacles limiting the success of low SES individuals.
For the accounting profession, understanding the vector of attributes that lead people to
select accounting can help business schools, firms, and the broader profession improve the
recruiting and retention of talented low SES individuals. Our study is a first step to shed light both
on what appeals to low SES individuals, and conditions under which accounting is less likely to
appeal to them. For example, at a practical level, accounting firms incur substantial costs to
personalize their recruiting mechanisms for students, and understanding that SES influences the
appeal of accounting degrees and jobs is potentially beneficial. The effects of SES may help
suggest first steps for accounting firms to tailor recruiting and retention mechanisms, job design,
and compensation packages to most effectively match the choice of accounting to life history
strategies. For instance, public accounting firms offer a variety of jobs such as auditing versus
advisory that vary in their degree of consistency with slower or faster life history strategies. If an
individual is likely to adopt a temporarily faster trajectory, then an employer could consider
adjusting that person’s task mix to include more work consistent with this strategy (e.g., advisory
work). Our findings suggest that the effectiveness of recruiting for different types of positions is
likely to change based upon a candidate’s background and current macroeconomic conditions.
This study opens numerous avenues for future research. A natural extension of this research
