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Gender Differences in Tournament Choices: Risk Preferences, Overconfidence, or Competitiveness?

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  • Roel van Veldhuizen

Abstract

A long line of laboratory experiments has found that women are less likely to sort into competitive environments. Although part of this effect may be explained by gender differences in risk attitudes and self-confidence, previous studies have attributed the majority of the gender gap to gender differences in a competitiveness trait. I re-examine this result using a novel experiment that allows me to separate competitiveness from alternative explanations using causal treatments. In contradiction to the main conclusion drawn in a long literature, my results imply that the entire gender gap is driven by gender differences in risk attitudes and self-confidence, which has implications for policy and research.

Suggested Citation

  • Roel van Veldhuizen, 2022. "Gender Differences in Tournament Choices: Risk Preferences, Overconfidence, or Competitiveness?," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1595-1618.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jeurec:v:20:y:2022:i:4:p:1595-1618.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jeea/jvac031
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey A. Flory & Andreas Leibbrandt & John A. List, 2015. "Do Competitive Workplaces Deter Female Workers? A Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment on Job Entry Decisions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(1), pages 122-155.
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    3. Jeffrey A. Flory & Andreas Leibbrandt & John A. List, 2010. "Do Competitive Work Places Deter Female Workers? A Large-Scale Natural Field Experiment on Gender Differences in Job-Entry Decisions," NBER Working Papers 16546, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    5. Muriel Niederle & Lise Vesterlund, 2007. "Do Women Shy Away From Competition? Do Men Compete Too Much?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1067-1101.
    6. Ben Gillen & Erik Snowberg & Leeat Yariv, 2019. "Experimenting with Measurement Error: Techniques with Applications to the Caltech Cohort Study," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(4), pages 1826-1863.
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