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When should I quit? Gender differences in exiting competitions

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  • Hogarth, Robin M.
  • Karelaia, Natalia
  • Trujillo, Carlos Andrés

Abstract

We study gender differences in exiting competitive environments by exploiting the “naturalistic experiment” of a TV game show where participants were self-selected and there were no gender-specific constraints or discrimination. In multiple rounds, contestants answer general knowledge questions privately. One participant is eliminated or leaves voluntarily at the end of each round. Women earn 40% less than men and exit the game prematurely at a faster rate, but especially when in a minority. This latter result highlights the importance of structural arrangements in organizations that interact with behavior to maintain “glass ceilings” and explains the differential gender-related risk attitudes observed.

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  • Hogarth, Robin M. & Karelaia, Natalia & Trujillo, Carlos Andrés, 2012. "When should I quit? Gender differences in exiting competitions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 136-150.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:83:y:2012:i:1:p:136-150
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2011.06.021
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zalata, Alaa Mansour & Abdelfattah, Tarek, 2021. "Non-executive female directors and earnings management using classification shifting," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 301-315.
    3. Mario Lackner, 2021. "Gender differences in competitiveness," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 236-236, November.
    4. Buser, Thomas & van den Assem, Martijn J. & van Dolder, Dennie, 2023. "Gender and willingness to compete for high stakes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 350-370.
    5. Ghazala Azmat & Nagore Iriberri, 2016. "The Provision of Relative Performance Feedback: An Analysis of Performance and Satisfaction," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1), pages 77-110, March.
    6. Janneke Plantenga, 2015. "The Economics of Gender Equality – A Review of the Literature in Three Propositions and Two Questions. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 104," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 58262.
    7. repec:ces:ifodic:v:15:y:2017:i:2:p:19337553 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Bernd Frick & Friedrich Scheel, 2013. "Gender differences in competitiveness: empirical evidence from 100m races," Chapters, in: Eva Marikova Leeds & Michael A. Leeds (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Women in Sports, chapter 14, pages 293-318, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    9. Renée B. Adams & Patricia Funk, 2012. "Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Does Gender Matter?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(2), pages 219-235, February.
    10. Werner Boente & Monika Jarosch, 2011. "Gender Differences in Competitiveness, Risk Tolerance, and other Personality Traits: Do they contribute to the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship?," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp11012, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    11. Qian, Meijun, 2016. "Women’s Leadership and Corporate Performance," ADB Economics Working Paper Series 472, Asian Development Bank.
    12. Miklós Antal & Ardjan Gazheli & Jeroen C.J.M. van den Bergh, 2012. "Behavioural Foundations of Sustainability Transitions. WWWforEurope Working Paper No. 3," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 46424.
    13. Boschini, Anne & Dreber, Anna & von Essen, Emma & Muren, Astri & Ranehill, Eva, 2019. "Gender, risk preferences and willingness to compete in a random sample of the Swedish population✰," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    14. Dilmaghani, Maryam, 2022. "Chess girls don’t cry: Gender composition of games and effort in competitions among the super-elite," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Hanley, Aoife & Schmidt, Eike-Christian, 2013. "Women quitters in exit competitions: Reliable indicators of women's risk aversion?," Kiel Policy Brief 66, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    16. Tom Lane, 2020. "Along which identity lines does 21st-century Britain divide? Evidence from Big Brother," Rationality and Society, , vol. 32(2), pages 197-222, May.
    17. Luís Pacheco & Júlio Lobão & Sílvia Coelho, 2023. "Gender and Risk Aversion: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Games, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, June.
    18. Werner Bönte & Monika Piegeler, 2013. "Gender gap in latent and nascent entrepreneurship: driven by competitiveness," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 961-987, December.
    19. repec:ces:ifodic:v:15:y:2017:i:2:p:13-17 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Nzabonimpa, Mélyne, 2023. "Gender differences in politician persistence and incumbency advantage," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Competition; Gender differences; Glass ceilings; Minority behaviors; Discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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