Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics
Research Papers in Economics,
Stockholm University, Department of Economics
No 2010:18: Gender Differences in Competitiveness and Risk Taking: Comparing Children in Colombia and Sweden
Juan-Camilo Cárdenas (), Anna Dreber (), Emma von Essen () and Eva Ranehill
Additional contact information
Juan-Camilo Cárdenas: Unversidad de los Andes, Postal: Facultad de Economía, Cra. 1 No. 18A -10. Edificio C, Oficina C105, Bogotá, Colombia
Anna Dreber: SIFR, Postal: SIFR - The Institute for Financial Research, Drottninggatan 89, SE-113 60 Stockholm, Sweden
Emma von Essen: Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University, Postal: Department of Economics, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
Eva Ranehill: Stockholm School of Economics, Postal: Department of Economics, Stockholm School of Economics, S-113 83 Stockholm, Sweden
Abstract: We explore gender differences in preferences for competition and risk among children aged 9-12 in Colombia and Sweden, two countries differing in gender equality according to macro indices. We include four types of tasks that vary in gender stereotyping when looking at competitiveness: running, skipping rope, math and word search. We find that boys and girls are equally competitive in all tasks and all measures in Colombia. Unlike the consistent results in Colombia, the results in Sweden are mixed, with some indication of girls being more competitive than boys in some tasks in terms of performance change, whereas boys are more likely to choose to compete in general. Boys in both countries are more risk taking than girls, with a smaller gender gap in Sweden.
Keywords: Competitiveness; risk preferences; children; gender differences; experiment
39 pages, November 4, 2010
Full text files
wp10_18.pdf
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