IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v183y2021icp175-188.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Born in the family: Preferences for boys and the gender gap in math

Author

Listed:
  • Dossi, Gaia
  • Figlio, David
  • Giuliano, Paola
  • Sapienza, Paola

Abstract

We study the effect of preferences for boys on the performance in mathematics of girls, using evidence from two different data sources. In our first set of results, we identify families with a preference for boys by using fertility stopping rules in a large population of households whose children attend public schools in Florida. Girls growing up in a boy-biased family score on average 3 percentage points lower on math tests when compared to girls raised in other types of families. In our second set of results, we find similar effects when we study the correlations between girls’ performance in mathematics and maternal gender role attitudes, using evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We conclude that socialization at home can explain a non-trivial part of the observed gender disparities in mathematics performance and document that maternal gender attitudes correlate with those of their children, supporting the hypothesis that preferences transmitted through the family impact children behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Dossi, Gaia & Figlio, David & Giuliano, Paola & Sapienza, Paola, 2021. "Born in the family: Preferences for boys and the gender gap in math," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 175-188.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:183:y:2021:i:c:p:175-188
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2020.12.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268120304716
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2020.12.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kalena E. Cortes & Joshua S. Goodman & Takako Nomi, 2015. "Intensive Math Instruction and Educational Attainment: Long-Run Impacts of Double-Dose Algebra," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(1), pages 108-158.
    2. Diva Dhar & Tarun Jain & Seema Jayachandran, 2019. "Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Attitudes: Evidence from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(12), pages 2572-2592, December.
    3. Lídia Farré & Francis Vella, 2013. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Role Attitudes and its Implications for Female Labour Force Participation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(318), pages 219-247, April.
    4. David Figlio & Jonathan Guryan & Krzysztof Karbownik & Jeffrey Roth, 2014. "The Effects of Poor Neonatal Health on Children's Cognitive Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(12), pages 3921-3955, December.
    5. Joseph G. Altonji & Erica Blom & Costas Meghir, 2012. "Heterogeneity in Human Capital Investments: High School Curriculum, College Major, and Careers," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 185-223, July.
    6. Fernández, Raquel, 2007. "Women, Work and Culture," CEPR Discussion Papers 6153, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Juanna Schrøter Joensen & Helena Skyt Nielsen, 2009. "Is there a Causal Effect of High School Math on Labor Market Outcomes?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(1).
    8. Claudia Olivetti & Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou, 2020. "Mothers, Peers, and Gender-Role Identity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 266-301.
    9. Francine D. Blau, 1992. "The Fertility of Immigrant Women: Evidence from High-Fertility Source Countries," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 93-134, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Natalia Nollenberger & Núria Rodríguez-Planas & Almudena Sevilla, 2016. "The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 257-261, May.
    11. David Card & A. Abigail Payne, 2021. "High School Choices And The Gender Gap In Stem," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 59(1), pages 9-28, January.
    12. Borghans L. & Groot L., 1999. "Educational presorting as a cause of occupational segregation," ROA Research Memorandum 003, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    13. Roland G. Fryer & Steven D. Levitt, 2010. "An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in Mathematics," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 210-240, April.
    14. Altonji, Joseph G. & Blank, Rebecca M., 1999. "Race and gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 48, pages 3143-3259, Elsevier.
    15. Joy, Lois, 2006. "Occupational differences between recent male and female college graduates," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 221-231, April.
    16. Devin G. Pope & Justin R. Sydnor, 2010. "Geographic Variation in the Gender Differences in Test Scores," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 95-108, Spring.
    17. Bisin, Alberto & Verdier, Thierry, 2001. "The Economics of Cultural Transmission and the Dynamics of Preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 298-319, April.
    18. Raquel Fernández, 2007. "Alfred Marshall Lecture Women, Work, and Culture," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(2-3), pages 305-332, 04-05.
    19. Giovanni Peri & Kevin Shih & Chad Sparber, 2016. "STEM Workers, H-1B Visas, and Productivity in US Cities," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Economics of International Migration, chapter 9, pages 277-307, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    20. Cools, Angela & Patacchini, Eleonora, 2017. "Sibling Gender Composition and Women's Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 11001, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    21. Gordon B. Dahl & Enrico Moretti, 2008. "The Demand for Sons," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 75(4), pages 1085-1120.
    22. Glenn Ellison & Ashley Swanson, 2010. "The Gender Gap in Secondary School Mathematics at High Achievement Levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 109-128, Spring.
    23. repec:hrv:hksfac:34298862 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Michela Carlana, 2019. "Implicit Stereotypes: Evidence from Teachers’ Gender Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 134(3), pages 1163-1224.
    25. Joshua Goodman, 2019. "The Labor of Division: Returns to Compulsory High School Math Coursework," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(4), pages 1141-1182.
    26. Juanna Schrøter Joensen & Helena Skyt Nielsen, 2016. "Mathematics and Gender: Heterogeneity in Causes and Consequences," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 1129-1163, June.
    27. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. Borghans, Lex & Groot, Loek, 1999. "Educational presorting and occupational segregation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 375-395, September.
    29. Taylor, Eric, 2014. "Spending more of the school day in math class: Evidence from a regression discontinuity in middle school," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 162-181.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Born in the Family: Preferences for Boys and the Gender Gap in Math
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2019-03-27 14:35:07

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Delaney, Judith & Devereux, Paul, 2019. "It's not just for boys! Understanding gender differences in STEM," Papers WP617, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    2. Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming, 2021. "Mama loves you: The gender wage gap and expenditure on children's education in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 1015-1034.
    3. Maria Laura Di Tommaso & Dalit Contini & Dalila De Rosa & Francesca Ferrara & Daniela Piazzalunga & Ornella Robutti, 2021. "Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 657, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    4. Nolan, Anne & Whelan, Adele & McGuinness, Seamus & Maître, Bertrand, 2019. "Gender, pensions and income in retirement," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS87.
    5. Deng, Zichen & Lindeboom, Maarten, 2019. "A Bit of Salt, a Trace of Life: Gender Norms and the Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children," IZA Discussion Papers 12629, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Akerlof, Robert & Rayo, Luis, 2020. "Narratives and the Economics of the Family," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1299, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    7. Gaia Dossi & David Figlio & Paola Giuliano & Paola Sapienza, 2021. "The Family Origin of the Math Gender Gap Is a White Affluent Phenomenon," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 111, pages 179-183, May.
    8. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2019. "Understanding gender differences in STEM: Evidence from college applications✰," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 219-238.
    9. Peter Siminski & Rhiannon Yetsenga, 2020. "Rethinking Specialization and the Sexual Division of Labor in the 21st Century," Working Paper Series 2020/04, Economics Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney.
    10. Zichen Deng & Maarten Lindeboom, 2021. "A Bit of Salt, A Trace of Life: Gender Norms and The Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children," Papers 2021-01, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University.
    11. Salland, Jan, 2021. "Income Comparison and Happiness within Households," Working Paper 191/2021, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg.
    12. CONTE KEIVABU, Risto, 2020. "Too hot to study? Gender and SES differences in the effect of temperature on school performance," SocArXiv whtf5, Center for Open Science.
    13. Francesco D'Acunto & Ulrike M. Malmendier & Michael Weber & Michael Weber, 2020. "Gender Roles and the Gender Expectations Gap," CESifo Working Paper Series 8158, CESifo.
    14. Liwen Chen & Bobby Chung & Guanghua Wang, 2022. "Stay-at-Home Peer Mothers and Gender Norms: Short-run Effects on Educational Outcomes," Working Papers 2022-039, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    15. Sigurdur Gudjonsson & Kari Kristinsson & Inga Minelgaite, 2022. "Follow us, not? Gender differences in financial literacy within the global leader of gender equality," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 10(2), pages 351-361, December.
    16. Zichen Deng & Maarten Lindeboom, 2020. "A Bit of Salt a Trace of Life - Gender Norms and The Impact of a Salt Iodization Program on Human Capital Formation of School Aged Children," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 20-067/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    17. Robitaille, Marie-Claire & Milla, Joniada, 2022. "Son Targeting Fertility Behavior in Albania," IZA Discussion Papers 15122, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Bordón, Paola & Canals, Catalina & Mizala, Alejandra, 2020. "The gender gap in college major choice in Chile," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    19. Deng, Zichen & Lindeboom, Maarten, 2022. "A bit of salt, a trace of life: Gender norms and the impact of a salt iodization program on human capital formation of school aged children," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    20. Katharina Heisig, 2019. "Vom Sinn einer geschlechtsneutralen Erziehung und Bildung," ifo Dresden berichtet, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 27(02), pages 12-16, April.
    21. Alice Bertoletti & Marta Cannistrà & Melisa Diaz Lema & Chiara Masci & Anna Mergoni & Lidia Rossi & Mara Soncin, 2023. "The Determinants of Mathematics Achievement: A Gender Perspective Using Multilevel Random Forest," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    22. Akerlof, Robert & Rayo, Luis, 2020. "Narratives and the Economics of the Family," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 503, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    23. Di Tommaso, Maria Laura & Contini, Dalit & De Rosa, Dalila & Piazzalunga, Daniela, 2020. "Tackling the Gender Gap in Math with Active Learning Teaching Practices," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202016, University of Turin.
    24. Hanadi Mohamed AbdelSalam & Maura A. E. Pilotti & Omar J. El-Moussa, 2021. "Sustainable Math Education of Female Students during a Pandemic: Online versus Face-to-Face Instruction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-12, November.
    25. Delaney, Judith & Devereux, Paul J., 2019. "Understanding Gender Differences in STEM: Evidence from College Applications," CEPR Discussion Papers 13558, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lenka Fiala & John Eric Humphries & Juanna Schrøter Joensen & Uditi Karna & John A. List & Gregory F. Veramendi, 2022. "How Early Adolescent Skills and Preferences Shape Economics Education Choices," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 112, pages 609-613, May.
    2. Anne (A.C.) Gielen & Esmee Zwiers, 2018. "Biology and the gender gap in educational performance - The role of prenatal testosterone in test scores," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 18-086/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Lippmann, Quentin & Senik, Claudia, 2018. "Math, girls and socialism," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 874-888.
    4. Hemelt, Steven W. & Lenard, Matthew A., 2020. "Math acceleration in elementary school: Access and effects on student outcomes," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Maria Laura Di Tommaso & Dalit Contini & Dalila De Rosa & Francesca Ferrara & Daniela Piazzalunga & Ornella Robutti, 2021. "Tackling the gender gap in mathematics with active learning methodologies," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 657, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    6. Claudia Olivetti & Eleonora Patacchini & Yves Zenou, 2020. "Mothers, Peers, and Gender-Role Identity," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 266-301.
    7. Biewen, Martin & Schwerter, Jakob, 2019. "Does More Math in High School Increase the Share of Female STEM Workers? Evidence from a Curriculum Reform," IZA Discussion Papers 12236, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Justman, Moshe & Méndez, Susan J., 2018. "Gendered choices of STEM subjects for matriculation are not driven by prior differences in mathematical achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 282-297.
    9. Jia, Ning, 2021. "Do stricter high school math requirements raise college STEM attainment?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    10. Victor Hiller, 2014. "Gender Inequality, Endogenous Cultural Norms, and Economic Development," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 116(2), pages 455-481, April.
    11. Delaney, Judith M. & Devereux, Paul J., 2019. "Understanding gender differences in STEM: Evidence from college applications✰," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 219-238.
    12. Liwen Chen & Bobby Chung & Guanghua Wang, 2022. "Stay-at-Home Peer Mothers and Gender Norms: Short-run Effects on Educational Outcomes," Working Papers 2022-039, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    13. De Philippis, Marta, 2016. "STEM graduates and secondary school curriculum: does early exposure to science matter?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67679, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Barigozzi, Francesca & Cremer, Helmuth & Roeder, Kerstin, 2018. "Women's career choices, social norms and child care policies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 162-173.
    15. Natalia Nollenberger & Núria Rodríguez-Planas & Almudena Sevilla, 2016. "The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 257-261, May.
    16. Paola Giuliano, 2020. "Gender and Culture," NBER Working Papers 27725, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Dominique Cappelletti & Maria Vittoria Levati & Matteo Ploner, 2022. "Math ability, gender stereotypes about math ability, and educational choices. Combining experimental and survey data," Working Papers 07/2022, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    18. Di Tommaso, Maria Laura & Contini, Dalit & De Rosa, Dalila & Piazzalunga, Daniela, 2020. "Tackling the Gender Gap in Math with Active Learning Teaching Practices," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202016, University of Turin.
    19. Michela Carlana, 2019. "Implicit Stereotypes: Evidence from Teachers’ Gender Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 134(3), pages 1163-1224.
    20. Marcos Agurto & Sandra Buzinsky & Siddharth Hari & Valeria Quevedo & Sudipta Sarangi & Susana Vegas, 2020. "Academic Aptitude Signals and STEM field participation: A Regression Discontinuity Approach," Working Papers 2020-08, Lima School of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender differences; Cultural transmission; Math performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z1 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:183:y:2021:i:c:p:175-188. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.