Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2021-10-19
Number: 21-093/I
Author-Name: Teodora Boneva
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Bonn
Author-Name: Thomas Buser
Author-Workplace-Name: University of Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute
Author-Name: Armin Falk
Author-Workplace-Name: Institute of behavior and Inequality and University of Bonn
Author-Name: Fabian Kosse
Author-Workplace-Name: Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich and Institute of behavior and Inequality
Title: The Origins of Gender Differences in Competitiveness and Earnings Expectations: Causal Evidence from a Mentoring Intervention
Abstract: We present evidence on the role of the social environment for the development of gender differences in competitiveness and earnings expectations. First, we document that the gender gap in competitiveness and earnings expectations is more pronounced among adolescents with low socioeconomic status (SES). We further document that there is a positive association between the competitiveness of mothers and their daughters, but not between the competitiveness of mothers and their sons. Second, we show that a randomized mentoring intervention that exposes low-SES children to predominantly female role models causally affects girls' willingness to compete and narrows both the gender gap in competitiveness as well as the gender gap in earnings expectations. Together, the results highlight the importance of the social environment in shaping willingness to compete and earnings expectations at a young age.
Classification-JEL: D9, J16, J24
Keywords: competitiveness, gender, socioeconomic status, inequality, earnings expectations
File-URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/21093.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 710.167 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20210093