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When Parents Decide: Gender Differences in Competitiveness

Author

Listed:
  • Jonas Tungodden
  • Alexander Willén

Abstract

Parents make important choices for their children in many areas of life, yet the empirical literature on this topic is scarce. We study parents’ competitiveness choices for their children by combining two large-scale artifactual field experiments with high-quality longitudinal administrative data. We document three main sets of findings. First, parents choose more competition for their sons than daughters. Second, this gender difference can largely be explained by parents’ beliefs about their children’s competitiveness preferences. Third, parents’ choices predict children’s later-in-life educational outcomes. Taken together, these findings provide novel evidence on the role of parents in shaping children’s long-term outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonas Tungodden & Alexander Willén, 2023. "When Parents Decide: Gender Differences in Competitiveness," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(3), pages 751-801.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/721801
    DOI: 10.1086/721801
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    Cited by:

    1. Chen, Yefeng & Yang, Wenyuan & Luo, Gansong & Luo, Jun, 2024. "Choosing tournament for children: Parenting style and information intervention," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Bütikofer, Aline & Karadakic, René & Willén, Alexander, 2025. "Parenthood and the gender gap in commuting," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    3. Dohmen, Thomas & Goldsteyn, Bart & Grönqvist, Hans & Hertegård, Edvin & Pfann, Gerard, 2026. "How Parenting Styles Shape Children’s Lifetime Outcomes," Working Papers in Economics and Statistics 1/2026, Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Economics and Statistics.
    4. Pedro Carneiro & Kjell Salvanes & Barton Willage & Alexander Willén, 2023. "Childhood Shocks Across Ages and Human Capital Formation," Working Papers 2023-018, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    5. Ortiz-Merchán, Silvia & Lee-Ocampo, María José & Cuéllar-Harker, Sebastián & Bolívar, Maria Fernanda & Barriga, Diana & Hernández, David & Villasmil, Alexander & Mantilla, César, 2024. "Don’t leave your kid unattended? Sex differences in children’s competitiveness in presence of their guardian," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    6. Bobae Hong & Kichang Kim & Yuxin Su, 2024. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Risk Preferences: Evidence from Field Experiments in China and Korea," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 151-173, March.
    7. Cattaneo, Maria A. & Gschwendt, Christian & Wolter, Stefan C., 2025. "How scary is the risk of automation? Evidence from a large-scale survey experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    8. Sebastian Königs & Javier Terrero-Dávila, 2025. "Who climbs the income ladder?: Cross-country evidence on income mobility from tax record data," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 322, OECD Publishing.
    9. Sund, Oda Kristine Storstad, 2023. "Unleveling the Playing Field? Experimental Evidence on Parents’ Willingness to Give Their Child an Advantage," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 21/2023, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    10. Maria A. Cattaneo & Christian Gschwendt & Stefan C. Wolter, 2024. "How Scary is the Risk of Automation? Evidence from a Large Survey Experiment," Economics of Education Working Paper Series 0213, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    11. Stefan C. Wolter & Thea S. Zöllner, 2025. "Are parents an obstacle to gender-atypical occupational choices?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(4), pages 1-19, December.
    12. Carneiro, Pedro & Salvanes, Kjell G. & Willage, Barton & Willén, Alexander, 2022. "The Timing of Parental Job Displacement, Child Development and Family Adjustment," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 12/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    13. Audrey Bousselin & Isabelle Brocas & Giorgia Menta & Eugenio Proto, 2026. "The Accuracy and Malleability of Parental Beliefs About Child Socio-Emotional Health," CESifo Working Paper Series 12534, CESifo.
    14. Riise, Julie & Willage, Barton & Willén, Alexander, 2025. "Intergenerational effects of sick leave on child human capital," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    15. Michela Carlana & Lucia Corno, 2022. "Shaping gender-stereotypical beliefs: the role of parents and peers," IFS Working Papers W22/52, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    16. Theresa Hübsch & Robert Mahlstedt & Pia Pinger & Sonja Settele & Helene Willadsen, 2026. "Mental Models of High School Success," CESifo Working Paper Series 12497, CESifo.
    17. Christopher W. Gardiner & Eva Markowsky, 2025. "Gender and Performance Under Competitive Pressure: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Studies," CEPA Discussion Papers 94, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    18. repec:osf:osfxxx:m24yh_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Fumiya Uchikoshi & Hirofumi Miwa & Yoshikuni Ono, 2025. "Gendered Expectations for College Applications: Experimental Evidence from a Gender Inegalitarian Education Context," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 66(5), pages 1-27, August.
    20. Fink, Johanna, 2024. "Do separate bidding zones within countries create imbalances in PV uptake? Evidence from Sweden," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    21. Hirshman, Samuel D. & Willén, Alexander, 2022. "Does Increasing Risk Widen Gender Gaps?," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 20/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    22. Willén, Alexander & Willage, Barton & Riise, Julie, 2022. "Employment Protection and Child Development," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 19/2022, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    23. Ugalde A., Paola, 2025. "Gendered effects of labels on advanced course enrollment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).

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