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Mitigating the Gender Gap in the Willingness to Compete: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment

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  • Sule Alan
  • Seda Ertac

Abstract

We evaluate the impact on competitiveness of a randomized educational intervention that aims to foster grit, a skill that is highly predictive of achievement. The intervention is implemented in elementary schools, and we measure its impact using a dynamic competition task with interim performance feedback. We find that when children are exposed to a worldview that emphasizes the role of effort in achievement and encourages perseverance, the gender gap in the willingness to compete disappears. We show that the elimination of this gap implies significant efficiency gains. We also provide suggestive evidence on a plausible causal mechanism that runs through the positive impact of enhanced grit on girls' optimism about their future performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Sule Alan & Seda Ertac, 2019. "Mitigating the Gender Gap in the Willingness to Compete: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 1147-1185.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jeurec:v:17:y:2019:i:4:p:1147-1185.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeea/jvy036
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    Cited by:

    1. José de Sousa & Guillaume Hollard, 2021. "From Micro to Macro Gender Differences: Evidence from Field Tournaments," Post-Print hal-03389151, HAL.
    2. Boneva, Teodora & Buser, Thomas & Falk, Armin & Kosse, Fabian, 2021. "The Origins of Gender Differences in Competitiveness and Earnings Expectations: Causal Evidence from a Mentoring Intervention," IZA Discussion Papers 14800, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Sutter, Matthias & Weyland, Michael & Untertrifaller, Anna & Froitzheim, Manuel & Schneider, Sebastian O., 2023. "Financial Literacy, Experimental Preference Measures and Field Behavior – A Randomized Educational Intervention," IZA Discussion Papers 16102, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Samuel Lüthi & Stefan C. Wolter, 2021. "Is Being Competitive Always an Advantage? Degrees of Competitiveness, Gender, and Premature Work Contract Termination," CESifo Working Paper Series 9264, CESifo.
    5. Thomas Buser & Hessel Oosterbeek, "undated". "The anatomy of competitiveness," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 23-031/I, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. José De Sousa & Guillaume Hollard, 2023. "From Micro to Macro Gender Differences: Evidence from Field Tournaments," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(6), pages 3358-3399, June.
    7. Lundberg, Shelly, 2022. "Gender Economics: Dead-Ends and New Opportunities," IZA Discussion Papers 15217, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Hernandez-Arenaz, Iñigo, 2020. "Stereotypes and tournament self-selection: A theoretical and experimental approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    9. Charness, Gary & Dao, Lien & Shurchkov, Olga, 2022. "Competing now and then: The effects of delay on competitiveness across gender," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 612-630.
    10. James J. Heckman & Bridget Galaty & Haihan Tian, 2023. "The Economic Approach to Personality, Character and Virtue," NBER Working Papers 31258, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Etienne Dagorn & David Masclet & Thierry Penard, 2022. "The Behavioral Determinants of School Achievement: A Lab in the Field Experiment in Middle School," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes 1 & University of Caen) 2022-05, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes 1, University of Caen and CNRS.
    12. Horn, Dániel & Kiss, Hubert János & Lénárd, Tünde, 2022. "Gender differences in preferences of adolescents: Evidence from a large-scale classroom experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 478-522.
    13. Amalia R. Miller & Ragan Petrie & Carmit Segal, 2024. "Effects of Workplace Competition on Work Time and Gender Inequality," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 77(2), pages 251-272, March.
    14. Matthias Sutter & Michael Weyland & Anna Untertrifaller & Manuel Froitzheim, 2020. "Financial literacy, risk and time preferences - Results from a randomized educational intervention," Working Papers 2020-27, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    15. Kerstin Grosch, Kerstin & Müller, Stephan & Rau, Holger A. & Zhurakhovska, Lilia, 2020. "Selection into Leadership and Dishonest Behavior of Leaders: A Gender Experiment," IHS Working Paper Series 19, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    16. Thomas Buser & Noemi Peter & Stefan C. Wolter, 2022. "Willingness to compete, gender and career choices along the whole ability distribution," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 25(5), pages 1299-1326, November.
    17. Matthias Sutter & Michael Weyland & Anna Untertrifaller & Manuel Froitzheim & Sebastian O. Schneider, 2020. "Financial literacy, risk and time preferences – Results from a randomized educational intervention," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2023_03, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    18. Johnsen, Åshild A. & Finseraas, Henning & Hanson, Torbjørn & Kotsadam, Andreas, 2023. "The malleability of competitive preferences," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    19. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/5msrbb0rie9sjq3c4ejgb2v91o is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Martina Ferracane & Veronica Ballerini & Adriano De Falco, 2022. "Preparing students for the digital era: lessons learned from FabLabs in school," RSCAS Working Papers 2022/65, European University Institute.
    21. Kerstin Grosch & Stephan Müller & Holger A. Rau & Lilia Wasserka-Zhurakhovska, 2020. "Gender Differences in Dishonesty Disappear When Leaders Make Decisions on Behalf of Their Team," CESifo Working Paper Series 8514, CESifo.
    22. Seemanti Ghosh, 2020. "Can enhancing consciousness of control ideology mitigate the impact of poverty on perseverance?," Working Papers 2020_22, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    23. 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).
    24. Seemanti Ghosh, 2020. "Development of locus of control: A comparison between adolescents from middle- and lower-socioeconomic class," Working Papers 2020_23, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.
    25. Almås, Ingvild & Berge, Lars Ivar & Bjorvatn, Kjetil & Somville, Vincent & Tungodden, Bertil, 2020. "Adverse selection into competition: Evidence from a large-scale field experiment in Tanzania," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 19/2020, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.

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