Words over Numbers: Childhood Cognitive Skills and Politics in Adulthood

This paper examines how different types of cognitive skills in childhood influence political interest and concerns about sociopolitical issues in early adulthood. Using longitudinal data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, I distinguish between verbal and analytical skills measured at age 9, showing that children with relatively stronger verbal skills display greater political interest and concern about social issues, such as racism or gender inequality, at age 20. Using g-sequential estimation, I show that the relationship between relative reading skills and sociopolitical concerns is not simply mediated by political interest. Additionally, the paper discusses and provides evidence on the selection problems of using verbal or analytical skills measured in adolescence, when political preferences have already been formed. These results have broad implications for research analyzing how educational content or occupational tasks shape individual political outcomes.