Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP14932
Authors: Francesco D. Acunto; Ulrike M. Malmendier; Michael Weber
Abstract: Expectations about economic variables vary systematically across genders. In the domain of inflation, women have systematically higher expectations than men. We argue that traditional gender roles are a significant factor in generating this gender expectations gap as they expose women and men to different economic signals in their daily lives. Using unique data on the participation of men and women inhousehold grocery chores, their resulting exposure to price signals, and their inflation expectations, we document a tight link between the gender expectations gap and the distribution of grocery shopping duties. Since grocery prices are highly volatile, and consumers focus disproportionally on positive price changes, frequent exposure to grocery prices increases perceptions of current inflation and expectations of future inflation. We show that the gender expectations gap is largest in households whose female heads are solely responsible for grocery shopping, whereas no gap arises in households in which grocery shopping is split equally between men and women. We discuss how gender roles, through the gender expectations gap, can lead women to suboptimal economic choices.
Keywords: gender gap; expectations; perceptions; experiences; exposure
JEL Codes: C90; D14; D84; E31; E52; G11
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| traditional gender roles (J16) | gender expectations gap in inflation perceptions (J16) |
| grocery shopping participation (D19) | inflation perceptions (E31) |
| gender expectations gap in inflation perceptions (J16) | economic choices (D10) |
| women as primary grocery shoppers (D19) | exposure to grocery prices (Q11) |
| exposure to grocery prices (Q11) | inflation perceptions (E31) |
| grocery shopping participation (D19) | gender expectations gap in inflation perceptions (J16) |