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Not-So-Strong Evidence for Gender Differences in Risk Taking

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  • Julie A. Nelson

Abstract

In their article "Strong Evidence for Gender Differences in Risk Taking," Gary Charness and Uri Gneezy (2012) review a number of experimental studies regarding investments in risky assets, and claim that these yield strong evidence that females are more risk averse than males. This study replicates and extends their article, demonstrating that its claims and methods are highly problematic. While Charness and Gneezy assert that differences exist at the individual level, the data indicate only that modest differences (at most) exist at aggregate levels, such as group means. The evidence in favor of gender differences is thus considerably less strong than claimed. This analysis has important implications both at the design of behavioral and economic research and for policies related to discrimination and stereotyping.

Suggested Citation

  • Julie A. Nelson, 2013. "Not-So-Strong Evidence for Gender Differences in Risk Taking," Working Papers 2013_06, University of Massachusetts Boston, Economics Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:mab:wpaper:2013_06
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Joseph Henrich & Steve J. Heine & Ara Norenzayan, 2010. "The Weirdest People in the World?," RatSWD Working Papers 139, German Data Forum (RatSWD).
    2. Daniela Beckmann & Lukas Menkhoff, 2008. "Will Women Be Women? Analyzing the Gender Difference among Financial Experts," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 364-384, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Filippin, Antonio & Crosetto, Paolo, 2014. "A Reconsideration of Gender Differences in Risk Attitudes," IZA Discussion Papers 8184, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Julie A. Nelson, 2015. "Are Women Really More Risk-Averse Than Men? A Re-Analysis Of The Literature Using Expanded Methods," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 566-585, July.
    3. Muriel Niederle, 2014. "Gender," NBER Working Papers 20788, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk aversion; gender; risk; stereotyping; effect size;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • B41 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Economic Methodology
    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General

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