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We use data from the military enlistment for a large representative sample of Swedish men to assess the importance of cognitive and noncognitive ability for labor market outcomes. The measure of noncognitive ability is based on a personal interview conducted by a psychologist. Unlike survey-based measures of noncognitive ability, this measure is a substantially stronger predictor of labor market outcomes than cognitive ability. In particular, we …nd strong evidence that men who fare badly in the labor market -in the sense of longterm unemployment or low annual earnings -lack noncognitive but not cognitive ability. We point to a technological explanation for this result. Noncognitive ability is an important determinant of productivity irrespective of occupation or ability level, though it seems to be of particular importance for workers in a managerial position. In contrast, cognitive ability is valuable only for men in quali…ed occupations. As a result, noncognitive ability is more important for men at the verge of being priced out of the labor market.

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The authors wish to thank the Swedish Research Council (grant 421-2011-2094) and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Agency for generous financial support. They also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the European Investment Bank Institute through its EIBURS initiative and the Handelsbanken research foundation (Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse). The findings, interpretations, and conclusions presented in this article are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the European Investment Bank or its Institute. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peerreviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

The authors wish to thank the Swedish Research Council (grant 421-2011-2094) and the Swedish Financial Supervisory Agency for generous financial support. They also gratefully acknowledge financial support from the European Investment Bank Institute through its EIBURS initiative and the Handelsbanken research foundation (Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius stiftelse). The findings, interpretations, and conclusions presented in this article are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to the European Investment Bank or its Institute. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peerreviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.