Working Paper: NBER ID: w13727
Authors: Uri Gneezy; Kenneth L. Leonard; John A. List
Abstract: This study uses a controlled experiment to explore whether there are gender differences in selecting into competitive environments across two distinct societies: the Maasai in Tanzania and the Khasi in India. One unique aspect of these societies is that the Maasai represent a textbook example of a patriarchal society whereas the Khasi are matrilineal. Similar to the extant evidence drawn from experiments executed in Western cultures, Maasai men opt to compete at roughly twice the rate as Maasai women. Interestingly, this result is reversed amongst the Khasi, where women choose the competitive environment more often than Khasi men, and even choose to compete weakly more often than Maasai men. We view these results as potentially providing insights into the underpinnings of the factors hypothesized to be determinants of the observed gender differences in selecting into competitive environments.
Keywords: gender differences; competition; patriarchal society; matrilineal society; experimental economics
JEL Codes: C9; C91; C93; J15; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Gender (male/female) (J16) | choice to compete (L13) |
| Societal structure (patriarchal vs. matrilineal) (J12) | gender competitiveness (J16) |
| Gender (male/female) + Societal structure (patriarchal vs. matrilineal) (J12) | competitive inclinations (L13) |
| Maasai men (N97) | compete at twice the rate of Maasai women (J79) |
| Khasi women (J16) | compete more often than Khasi men (Z29) |
| Khasi women (J16) | slightly more competitive than Maasai men (Z29) |
| Maasai women (N97) | 25-32% less likely to compete than Maasai men (J79) |