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Gender Differences in Tournament Choices: Risk Preferences, Overconfidence, or Competitiveness?

van Veldhuizen, Roel LU orcid (2022) In Journal of the European Economic Association 20(4). p.1595-1618
Abstract
A long line of laboratory experiments has found that women are less likely to sort into competitive environments. Although part of this effect may be explained by gender differences in risk attitudes and self-confidence, previous studies have attributed the majority of the gender gap to gender differences in a competitiveness trait. I re-examine this result using a novel experiment that allows me to separate competitiveness from alternative explanations using causal treatments. In contradiction to the main conclusion drawn in a long literature, my results imply that the entire gender gap is driven by gender differences in risk attitudes and self-confidence, which has implications for policy and research.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Journal of the European Economic Association
volume
20
issue
4
pages
24 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85136723613
ISSN
1542-4774
DOI
10.1093/jeea/jvac031
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
76085ebd-8951-4914-912c-6a0c1a8d1dcd
date added to LUP
2022-09-05 16:04:36
date last changed
2022-10-24 11:19:50
@article{76085ebd-8951-4914-912c-6a0c1a8d1dcd,
  abstract     = {{A long line of laboratory experiments has found that women are less likely to sort into competitive environments. Although part of this effect may be explained by gender differences in risk attitudes and self-confidence, previous studies have attributed the majority of the gender gap to gender differences in a competitiveness trait. I re-examine this result using a novel experiment that allows me to separate competitiveness from alternative explanations using causal treatments. In contradiction to the main conclusion drawn in a long literature, my results imply that the entire gender gap is driven by gender differences in risk attitudes and self-confidence, which has implications for policy and research.}},
  author       = {{van Veldhuizen, Roel}},
  issn         = {{1542-4774}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{1595--1618}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of the European Economic Association}},
  title        = {{Gender Differences in Tournament Choices: Risk Preferences, Overconfidence, or Competitiveness?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvac031}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/jeea/jvac031}},
  volume       = {{20}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}