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How social structure shapes female competition throughout her lifetime

Author

Listed:
  • Flory, Jeffrey
  • Leonard, Kenneth L.
  • Tsaneva, Magda
  • Vasilaky, Kathryn

Abstract

Many studies find a consistent gender gap in competitiveness where men are more likely to compete than women given the same level of ability. Using data from experiments with women ages 12 through 90 in matrilocal and patrilocal communities in rural Malawi, we show that this gender gap does not exist uniformly for all women nor across their whole lifetime. We first replicate three main findings from the gender and competition literature: (i) women are less likely to compete on average; and the gender gap differs by (ii) culture and by (iii) age. In a new finding, we show that the gender gap changes in a theoretically-predicted manner with motherhood status. We argue that these results, when combined, point to an overarching theory of gender and competition–one that is driven by environmental constraints that vary with age, fertility, and social structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Flory, Jeffrey & Leonard, Kenneth L. & Tsaneva, Magda & Vasilaky, Kathryn, 2023. "How social structure shapes female competition throughout her lifetime," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 433-456.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:216:y:2023:i:c:p:433-456
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.10.023
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender; Competition; Culture; Socialization; Age;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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