DO DRAGONS HAVE BETTER FATE? REVISITED USING THE U.S. DATA

We investigate the scientific validity of one aspect of the Chinese astrology: individuals born in the year of Dragon are believed to have a better fate in their life. While better fate can be manifested in many aspects, one plausible measure is the economic success of the individuals. Following the lead of Wong and Yung (2005), we use the standard earnings function methodology to examine if “Dragon kids” indeed have a significant earnings advantage than others. However, using data from a society where such a belief is prevalent may exhibit potential endogeniety bias. The U.S. data would be free from such bias thereby providing an improved test of the existence of the “Dragon effect” over Wong and Yung (2005). We find no presence of the “Dragon effect”.