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Male and Female Competitive Behavior: Experimental Evidence

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Author Info
Nabanita Datta Gupta () (Danish National Institute of Social Research and IZA Bonn)
Anders Poulsen () (University of East Anglia)
AMarie-Claire Villeval () (GATE (CNRS, University Lumière Lyon, ENS) and IZA Bonn)

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Abstract

Male and female choices differ in many economic situations, e.g., on the labor market. This paper considers whether such differences are driven by different attitudes towards competition. In our experiment subjects choose between a tournament and a piece-rate pay scheme before performing a real task. Men choose the tournament significantly more often than women. Women are mainly influenced by their degree of risk aversion, but men are not. Men compete more against men than against women, but compete against women who are thought to compete. The behavior of men seems primarily to be influenced by social norms whose nature and origin we discuss.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1833.

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Length: 38 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2005
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1833

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Related research
Keywords: competition; tournament; piece rate; gender; risk-aversion; relative ability; experiment;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Booth, Alison L & Nolen, Patrick, 2009. "Choosing to Compete: How different are girls and boys?," CEPR Discussion Papers 7214, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Booth, Alison L., 2009. "Gender and Competition," IZA Discussion Papers 4300, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Uri Gneezy & Kenneth L. Leonard & John A. List, 2008. "Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence from a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," NBER Working Papers 13727, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Fernanda Rivas, 2006. "An experiment on corruption and gender," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0806, Department of Economics - dECON. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Tor Eriksson & Sabrina Teyssier & Marie-Claire Villeval, 2006. "Self-Selection and the Efficiency of Tournaments," Working Papers 0603, Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Université Lyon 2, Ecole Normale Supérieure. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Alison L. Booth & Patrick Nolen, 2009. "Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour: Does Nurture Matter?," Economics Discussion Papers 672, University of Essex, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Alan Manning & Farzad Saidi, 2008. "Understanding the Gender Pay Gap: Whats Competition Got to Do with It?," CEP Discussion Papers dp0898, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  8. Beckmann, Daniela & Lütje, Torben & Rebeggiani, Luca, 2007. "Italian Asset Managers’ Behavior: Evidence on Overconfidence, Risk Taking and Gender," Diskussionspapiere der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Hannover dp-358, Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät. [Downloadable!]
  9. Beckmann, Daniela & Menkhoff, Lukas, 2008. "Will Women Be Women? Analyzing the Gender Difference among Financial Experts," Diskussionspapiere der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Hannover dp-391, Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Alison L. Booth, 2006. "The Glass Ceiling in Europe: Why Are Women Doing Badly in the Labour Market?," CEPR Discussion Papers 542, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. [Downloadable!]
  11. Tor Eriksson & Sabrina Teyssier & Marie-Claire Villeval, 2006. "Effort Self-Selection and the Efficiency of Tournaments," Post-Print halshs-00142876_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  12. Jurajda, Stepan & Münich, Daniel, 2008. "Gender Gap in Performance under Competitive Pressure," CEPR Discussion Papers 7059, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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