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Understanding the Drivers of the Gender Productivity Gap in the Economics Profession

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  • Dennis Wesselbaum

Abstract

In this paper, I construct a novel data set from individual curriculum vitae of economists at the top 100 US departments to study gender differences in the drivers of scholarly performance. Using a Shapley decomposition procedure to estimate the contribution of each driver in explaining the variation in mean and inequality of research performance, I find that for women, current placement is a more important driver of performance and inequality in performance compared to men. For men, co-authorship is the most important driver. Overall, my results suggest that networks are the key driver of performance and of inequality in performance. JEL codes: A14, J16, J24

Suggested Citation

  • Dennis Wesselbaum, 2023. "Understanding the Drivers of the Gender Productivity Gap in the Economics Profession," The American Economist, Sage Publications, vol. 68(1), pages 61-73, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:amerec:v:68:y:2023:i:1:p:61-73
    DOI: 10.1177/05694345221128193
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    drivers; gender; inequality; networks; placement; scholarly performance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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