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Every Man for Himself! Gender, Norms and Survival in Maritime Disasters

Author

Listed:
  • Elinder, Mikael

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Erixson, Oscar

    (Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

Since the sinking of the Titanic, there has been a widespread belief that the social norm of ‘women and children first’ gives women a survival advantage over men in maritime disasters, and that captains and crew give priority to passengers. We analyze a database of 18 maritime disasters spanning three centuries, covering the fate of over 15,000 individuals of more than 30 nationalities. Our results provide a new picture of maritime disasters. Women have a distinct survival disadvantage compared to men. Captains and crew survive at a significantly higher rate than passengers. We also find that the captain has the power to enforce normative behavior, that the gender gap in survival rates has declined, that women have a larger disadvantage in British shipwrecks, and that there seems to be no association between duration of a disaster and the impact of social norms. Taken together, our findings show that behavior in life-and-death situation is best captured by the expression ‘Every man for himself’.

Suggested Citation

  • Elinder, Mikael & Erixson, Oscar, 2012. "Every Man for Himself! Gender, Norms and Survival in Maritime Disasters," Working Paper Series 913, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0913
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    File URL: https://www.ifn.se/wfiles/wp/wp913.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bruno S. Frey & David A. Savage & Benno Torgler, 2011. "Behavior under Extreme Conditions: The Titanic Disaster," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(1), pages 209-222, Winter.
    2. Cameron,A. Colin & Trivedi,Pravin K., 2005. "Microeconometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521848053, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. ‘Women and Children First’ vs. ‘Every Man for Himself’
      by Christopher Shea in Ideas Market on 2012-05-14 18:52:00
    2. [経済]コスタ・コンコルディアの船長は例外に非ず
      by himaginary in himaginaryの日記 on 2012-05-21 12:00:00
    3. Women and children first? No
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2012-05-11 19:36:00
    4. Women and children first! Not!
      by Andreas Ortmann in Core Economics on 2012-05-20 12:21:06
    5. Women and children first! Not!
      by Andreas Ortmann in Core Economics on 2012-05-20 12:21:06

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social Norms; Disaster; Women and children first; Mortality; High stakes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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