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Gender in Jeopardy!: The Role of Opponent Gender in High-Stakes Competition

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  • Jetter, Michael

    (University of Western Australia)

  • Walker, Jay K.

    (Old Dominion University)

Abstract

Using 4,279 episodes of the popular US game show Jeopardy!, we analyze whether the opponents' gender is able to explain the gender gap in competitive behavior. Our findings indicate that gender differences disappear when women compete against men. This result is surprising, but emerges with remarkable consistency for the probability to (i) respond, (ii) respond correctly, and (iii) respond correctly in high-stakes situations. Even risk preferences in wagering decisions, where gender differences are especially pronounced, do not differ across gender once a woman competes against males. Using a fixed-effects framework, and therefore exploiting within-player variation only, confirms these findings. These results, derived from a large real-life setting, suggest that gender differences in performance and risk attitudes are not gender-inherent, but rather emerge in distinct social environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Jetter, Michael & Walker, Jay K., 2016. "Gender in Jeopardy!: The Role of Opponent Gender in High-Stakes Competition," IZA Discussion Papers 9669, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9669
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    Cited by:

    1. Anne Ardila Brenøe & Ulf Zölitz, 2020. "Exposure to More Female Peers Widens the Gender Gap in STEM Participation," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 38(4), pages 1009-1054.
    2. Bilson, Jessica R. & Jetter, Michael & Kristoffersen, Ingebjørg, 2017. "Gender Differences in the Link between Income and Trust Levels: Evidence from Longitudinal Data," IZA Discussion Papers 10585, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Booth, Alison & Lee, Jungmin, 2021. "Girls’ and boys’ performance in competitions: What we can learn from a Korean quiz show," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 431-447.
    4. Jetter, Michael & Walker, Jay K., 2016. "Anchoring in Financial Decision-Making: Evidence from the Field," IZA Discussion Papers 10151, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Booth, Alison & Lee, Jungmin, 2019. "Girls’ and Boys’ Performance in Competitions: What We Can Learn from a Korean Quiz Show," CEPR Discussion Papers 13552, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. Birk, Erica G. & Lee, Logan M. & Waddell, Glen R., 2016. "Do Men Matter to Female Competition Even When They Don't?," IZA Discussion Papers 10184, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    risk preferences; gender gap; competition;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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