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Women's empowerment, sibling rivalry, and competitiveness: evidence from a lab experiment and a randomized control trial in Uganda

Author

Listed:
  • Buehren,Niklas
  • Goldstein,Markus P.
  • Leonard,Kenneth
  • Montalvao,Joao
  • Vasilaky,Kathryn

Abstract

This study looks at how a community event?adolescent women's economic and social empowerment -- and a family factor -- sibling sex composition?interact in shaping gender differences in preferences for competition. To do so, a lab-in-the-field experiment is conducted using competitive games layered over the randomized rollout of a community program that empowered adolescent girls in Uganda. In contrast with the literature, the study finds no gender differences in competitiveness among adolescents, on average. It also finds no evidence of differences in competitiveness between girls in treatment and control communities, on average. However, in line with the literature, in control communities the study finds that boys surrounded by sisters are less competitive. Strikingly, this pattern is reversed in treatment communities, where boys surrounded by (empowered) sisters are more competitive.

Suggested Citation

  • Buehren,Niklas & Goldstein,Markus P. & Leonard,Kenneth & Montalvao,Joao & Vasilaky,Kathryn, 2016. "Women's empowerment, sibling rivalry, and competitiveness: evidence from a lab experiment and a randomized control trial in Uganda," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7699, The World Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7699
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steffen Andersen & Seda Ertac & Uri Gneezy & John A. List & Sandra Maximiano, 2013. "Gender, Competitiveness, and Socialization at a Young Age: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1438-1443, October.
    2. Cárdenas, Juan-Camilo & Dreber, Anna & von Essen, Emma & Ranehill, Eva, 2012. "Gender differences in competitiveness and risk taking: Comparing children in Colombia and Sweden," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 11-23.
    3. Silvia Helena Barcellos & Leandro S. Carvalho & Adriana Lleras-Muney, 2014. "Child Gender and Parental Investments in India: Are Boys and Girls Treated Differently?," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, pages 157-189.
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    Cited by:

    1. Oriana Bandiera & Niklas Buehren & Robin Burgess & Markus Goldstein & Selim Gulesci & Imran Rasul & Munshi Sulaiman, 2020. "Women's Empowerment in Action: Evidence from a Randomized Control Trial in Africa," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 210-259, January.
    2. Alison Andrew & Sonya Krutikova & Gabriela Smarrelli & Hemlata Verma, 2022. "Gender norms, violence and adolescent girls' trajectories: evidence from a field experiment in India," Economics Series Working Papers 984, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    3. Alison Andrew & Sonya Krutikova & Gabriela Smarrelli & Hemlata Verma, 2022. "Gender norms, violence and adolescent girls’ trajectories: evidence from a field experiment in India," IFS Working Papers W22/41, Institute for Fiscal Studies.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Anthropology; Gender and Development; Gender and Social Development; Gender and Law; Adolescent Health;
    All these keywords.

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