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Taste for competition and the gender gap among young business professionals

Author

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  • Ernesto Reuben
  • Paola Sapienza
  • Luigi Zingales

    (Division of Social Science)

Abstract

We study whether and why taste for competition (as measured by Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007) affects MBA salaries and whether this effect can explain the wage gender gap. At graduation, MBAs with higher taste for competition earn $15K (9.3%) more. Over time this effect is mitigated by overconfidence. Seven years after graduation, competitive MBAs with a low degree of overconfidence earn 26% more, while those who are highly overconfident earn 19% less. Taste for competition explains 10% of the gender gap at graduation and none seven years later.

Suggested Citation

  • Ernesto Reuben & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2019. "Taste for competition and the gender gap among young business professionals," Working Papers 20190031, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Nov 2019.
    • Handle: RePEc:nad:wpaper:20190031
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    File URL: https://nyuad.nyu.edu/content/dam/nyuad/academics/divisions/social-science/working-papers/2019/0031.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ernesto Reuben & Matthew Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2017. "Preferences and Biases in Educational Choices and Labour Market Expectations: Shrinking the Black Box of Gender," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(604), pages 2153-2186, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Katherine Coffman & Maria Paola Ugalde Araya & Basit Zafar, 2024. "A (dynamic) investigation of stereotypes, belief‐updating, and behavior," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 62(3), pages 957-983, July.
    2. Fallucchi, Francesco & Nosenzo, Daniele & Reuben, Ernesto, 2020. "Measuring preferences for competition with experimentally-validated survey questions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 402-423.
    3. Buser, Thomas & van den Assem, Martijn J. & van Dolder, Dennie, 2023. "Gender and willingness to compete for high stakes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 350-370.
    4. Hakimov, Rustamdjan & Schmacker, Renke & Terrier, Camille, 2022. "Confidence and college applications: Evidence from a randomized intervention," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Market Behavior SP II 2022-209, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    5. Lina Lozano & Ernesto Reuben, 2022. "Measuring Preferences for Competition," Working Papers 20220078, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Aug 2022.
    6. Fang, Chao & Zhang, Ernest & Zhang, Junfu, 2021. "Do women give up competing more easily? Evidence from speedcubers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    7. Maitra, Pushkar & Neelim, Ananta & Tran, Chau, 2021. "The role of risk and negotiation in explaining the gender wage gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 1-27.
    8. Markowsky, Eva & Beblo, Miriam, 2022. "When do we observe a gender gap in competition entry? A meta-analysis of the experimental literature," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 139-163.
    9. Johnsen, Åshild A. & Finseraas, Henning & Hanson, Torbjørn & Kotsadam, Andreas, 2023. "The malleability of competitive preferences," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    10. Aurélie Dariel & Nikos Nikiforakis & Jan Stoop, 2020. "Does selection bias cause us to overestimate gender differences in competitiveness?," Working Papers 20200046, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised May 2020.
    11. Halladay, Brianna & Landsman, Rachel, 2022. "Perception matters: The role of task gender stereotype on confidence and tournament selection," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 35-43.

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