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Gender Differences in Judicial Decisions under Incomplete Information: Evidence from Child Support Cases

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Abstract

We compare decisions by female and male judges in child support trials where a judge decides on the child support amount to be paid by the father. Leveraging the random assignment of cases to judges, we show that female judges set lower child support awards. We find no evidence that this gap is explained by pervasive views on traditional gender norms, nor by female and male judges pursuing alternative judicial goals. Instead, we offer a new perspective on gender differences in judicial decision-making by focusing on cases where the defendant’s income is non-observable due to labor market informality. In these cases, judges must form beliefs about the income before deciding on a child support award. Eliciting such beliefs, we find that female judges rely less on the plaintiff’s claim to form beliefs about the defendant’s income, which explains the gender gap in child support awards.

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  • Roberto Asmat & Lajos Kossuth, 2023. "Gender Differences in Judicial Decisions under Incomplete Information: Evidence from Child Support Cases," Working Papers wp2023_2303, CEMFI.
    • Handle: RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2023_2303
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    1. Leonardo Bursztyn & Alessandra L. González & David Yanagizawa-Drott, 2020. "Misperceived Social Norms: Women Working Outside the Home in Saudi Arabia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(10), pages 2997-3029, October.
    2. Sean Farhang, 2004. "Institutional Dynamics on the U.S. Court of Appeals: Minority Representation Under Panel Decision Making," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 299-330, October.
    3. Manuel F. Bagues & Berta Esteve-Volart, 2010. "Can Gender Parity Break the Glass Ceiling? Evidence from a Repeated Randomized Experiment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 77(4), pages 1301-1328.
    4. Matthew Knepper, 2018. "When the Shadow Is the Substance: Judge Gender and the Outcomes of Workplace Sex Discrimination Cases," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(3), pages 623-664.
    5. Max Schanzenbach, 2005. "Racial and Sex Disparities in Prison Sentences: The Effect of District-Level Judicial Demographics," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 57-92, January.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • K15 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Civil Law; Common Law
    • K36 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Family and Personal Law

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