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The upside of pessimism − Biased beliefs and the paradox of the contented female worker

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  • Dawson, Chris

Abstract

Both sexes display inaccuracies in estimating their labour market prospects, but in different directions. Consistent with the literature on sex differences in psychological bias, females are less optimistic than men and on average tend to be overly pessimistic. Optimism, measured as an upwardly biased perception of the labour market returns distribution, increases the likelihood of disappointment with realized performance. A substantial proportion of the female job satisfaction advantage appears to be associated with both overly pessimistic female expectations and overly optimistic male expectations. The implications of female pessimism on both job-search and gender earnings differentials is also discussed.

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  • Dawson, Chris, 2017. "The upside of pessimism − Biased beliefs and the paradox of the contented female worker," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 215-228.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:135:y:2017:i:c:p:215-228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2017.02.004
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    3. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood & Parvinder Kler & Gareth Leeves, 2018. "Paradox Lost: The Disappearing Female Job Satisfaction Premium," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(3), pages 484-502, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Optimism; Wage expectations; Job satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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