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Culture, Institutions and the Gender Gap in Competitive Inclination: Evidence from the Communist Experiment in China

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  • Y Jane Zhang

Abstract

Can policy change competitive preferences? This study uses controlled laboratory settings to compare the gender gap in competitive inclination in ethnic groups exposed and exempted from communist institutional reforms that have radically changed the lives of women in China in the areas of marriage, education, work and fertility. Results suggest that exogenously imposed reforms may increase female competitive inclination, although they do not eliminate the gender gap in all cultural contexts. Potential confounding factors are minimised through random selection of subjects from the same high school, resulting in similarity across ethnic groups in demographics, socio-economic status and academic performance.

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  • Y Jane Zhang, 2019. "Culture, Institutions and the Gender Gap in Competitive Inclination: Evidence from the Communist Experiment in China," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 129(617), pages 509-552.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:econjl:v:129:y:2019:i:617:p:509-552.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/ecoj.12596
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    Cited by:

    1. Eber, Nicolas & François, Abel & Weill, Laurent, 2021. "Gender, age, and attitude toward competition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 668-690.
    2. Jane E. Workman & Seung-Hee Lee & Kwangho Jung, 2019. "Trendsetting, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Receptivity, and Future Orientation among the Young Generation of Chinese College Students: Trendsetters Critically Matter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Tünde Lénárd & Hubert János Kiss & Dániel Horn, 2023. "Competition, confidence and gender: shifting the focus from the overconfident to the realistic," CERS-IE WORKING PAPERS 2327, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    4. Fallucchi, Francesco & Nosenzo, Daniele & Reuben, Ernesto, 2020. "Measuring preferences for competition with experimentally-validated survey questions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 402-423.
    5. Carlsson, Fredrik & Lampi, Elina & Martinsson, Peter & Yang, Xiaojun, 2020. "Replication: Do women shy away from competition? Experimental evidence from China," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. Buser, Thomas & van den Assem, Martijn J. & van Dolder, Dennie, 2023. "Gender and willingness to compete for high stakes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 350-370.
    7. Timo Heinrich & Jason Shachat, 2020. "The development of risk aversion and prudence in Chinese children and adolescents," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 61(3), pages 263-287, December.
    8. Hoyer, Britta & van Huizen, Thomas & Keijzer, Linda & Rezaei, Sarah & Rosenkranz, Stephanie & Westbrock, Bastian, 2020. "Gender, competitiveness, and task difficulty: Evidence from the field," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    9. Dilmaghani, Maryam, 2021. "The gender gap in competitive chess across countries: Commanding queens in command economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 425-441.
    10. Oriana Bandiera & Nidhi Parekh & Barbara Petrongolo & Michelle Rao, 2022. "Men are from Mars, and Women Too: A Bayesian Meta‐analysis of Overconfidence Experiments," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(S1), pages 38-70, June.
    11. Aurelie Dariel & Nikos Nikiforakis & Jan Stoop, 2022. "Competition, Selection Bias and Gender Differences Among Economics Majors," Working Papers 20220074, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Jan 2022.
    12. Fang, Chao & Zhang, Ernest & Zhang, Junfu, 2021. "Do women give up competing more easily? Evidence from speedcubers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    13. Huichao Du & Yun Xiao & Liqiu Zhao, 2021. "Education and gender role attitudes," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 475-513, April.
    14. Maitra, Pushkar & Neelim, Ananta & Tran, Chau, 2021. "The role of risk and negotiation in explaining the gender wage gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 1-27.
    15. Cassar, Alessandra & Zhang, Y. Jane, 2022. "The competitive woman: Evolutionary insights and cross-cultural evidence into finding the Femina Economica," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 447-471.
    16. Karen Evelyn Hauge & Andreas Kotsadam & Anine Riege, 2023. "Culture and Gender Differences in Willingness to Compete," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(654), pages 2403-2426.
    17. Markowsky, Eva & Beblo, Miriam, 2022. "When do we observe a gender gap in competition entry? A meta-analysis of the experimental literature," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 139-163.
    18. Johnsen, Åshild A. & Finseraas, Henning & Hanson, Torbjørn & Kotsadam, Andreas, 2023. "The malleability of competitive preferences," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. Chen, Shuo & Xie, Bin, 2020. "Institutional Discrimination and Assimilation: Evidence from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882," IZA Discussion Papers 13647, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Lowes, Sara, 2021. "Kinship structure, stress, and the gender gap in competition," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 36-57.
    21. Huang, Yana & Wang, Tianyu, 2022. "MULAN in the name: Causes and consequences of gendered Chinese names," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    22. Aurélie Dariel & Nikos Nikiforakis & Jan Stoop, 2020. "Does selection bias cause us to overestimate gender differences in competitiveness?," Working Papers 20200046, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised May 2020.
    23. Yana Gallen, 2018. "Motherhood and the Gender Productivity Gap," Working Papers 2018-091, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    24. Rodríguez-Planas, Nuria & Sanz-de-Galdeano, Anna & Terskaya, Anastasia, 2022. "Gender norms in high school: Impacts on risky behaviors from adolescence to adulthood," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 429-456.

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