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An experiment on corruption and gender

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  • Maria Fernanda Rivas

    (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.)

Abstract

There exists evidence in the social science literature that women may be more relationship- oriented, may have higher standards of ethical behavior and may be more concerned with the common good than men are. This would imply that women are more willing to sacri.ce private pro.t for the public good, which would be especially important for political life. A number of papers with field data have found di¤erences in the corrupt activities of males and females, nonetheless they have drawbacks that may be overcome in a lab experiment. The aim of this paper is to see experimentally if women and men, facing the same situation behave in a di¤erent way, as suggested in the .eld-data studies or, on the contrary, they behave in the same way. The results found in the experiment show that women are indeed less corrupt than men.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Fernanda Rivas, 2008. "An experiment on corruption and gender," ThE Papers 08/10, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    • Handle: RePEc:gra:wpaper:08/10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Experiment; corruption; gender.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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