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Effort allocation in tournaments: The effect of gender on academic performance in Italian universities

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  • Castagnetti, Carolina
  • Rosti, Luisa

Abstract

We consider the academic performance of Italian university graduates and their labor market position 3 years after graduation. Our data confirm the common finding that female students outperform male students in academia but are overcome in the labor market. Assuming that academic competition is fair and that individual talent is equally distributed by gender, we suggest that the gender gap evident in degree scores is endogenously due to the greater effort exerted by female students. We find that females face a greater increase in labor market returns from signalling through academic performance. This higher prize explains the greater effort exerted by females and the higher probability of winning the academic competition.

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  • Castagnetti, Carolina & Rosti, Luisa, 2009. "Effort allocation in tournaments: The effect of gender on academic performance in Italian universities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 357-369, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:28:y:2009:i:3:p:357-369
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    1. Castagnetti, Carolina & Rosti, Luisa, 2010. "Gender stereotyping and wage discrimination among Italian graduates," MPRA Paper 26685, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Concetta Castiglione & Davide Infante & Janna Smirnova, 2022. "Do female managers perform better? Evidence from Italian manufacturing firms," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 2194-2209, April.
    3. Migheli, Matteo, 2015. "Gender at work: Incentives and self-sorting," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 10-18.
    4. Töpfer, Marina & Castagnetti, Carolina & Rosti, Luisa, 2016. "Discriminate me - if you can! The Disappearance of the Gender Pay Gap among Public-Contest Selected Employees," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145905, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Limanond, Thirayoot & Jomnonkwao, Sajjakaj & Watthanaklang, Duangdao & Ratanavaraha, Vatanavongs & Siridhara, Siradol, 2011. "How vehicle ownership affect time utilization on study, leisure, social activities, and academic performance of university students? A case study of engineering freshmen in a rural university in Thail," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 719-726, September.
    6. Carolina Castagnetti, 2015. "The Analysis of the Gender Wage Gap in the Italian Public Sector: a Quantile Approach for Panel Data," DEM Working Papers Series 109, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    7. Alessandro Cigno & Annalisa Luporini, 2019. "Student loans and the allocation of graduate jobs," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 52(1), pages 339-378, February.
    8. Carolina Castagnetti & Luisa Rosti, 2010. "The Gender Gap in Academic Achievements of Italian Graduates," Quaderni di Dipartimento 118, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods.
    9. Hinnerich, Björn Tyrefors & Höglin, Erik & Johannesson, Magnus, 2011. "Are boys discriminated in Swedish high schools?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 682-690, August.
    10. Castagnetti, Carolina & Rosti, Luisa & Töpfer, Marina, 2015. "The reversal of the gender pay gap among public-contest selected young employees," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 14-2015, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    11. Castagnetti, Carolina & Giorgetti, Maria Letizia, 2019. "Understanding the gender wage-gap differential between the public and private sectors in Italy: A quantile approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 240-261.
    12. Carolina Castagnetti & Luisa Rosti, 2012. "Unfair tournaments: gender stereotyping and wage discrimination among Italian graduates," DEM Working Papers Series 010, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    13. Granato, Silvia & Havari, Enkelejda & Mazzarella, Gianluca & Schnepf, Sylke V., 2021. "Study Abroad Programmes and Students' Academic Performance: Evidence from Erasmus Applications," IZA Discussion Papers 14651, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education Italy Gender Tournaments Sample selection;

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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