Gender differences in risk aversion: Do single-sex environments affect their development?

Abstract

Gender Differences in Risk Aversion: Do Single-Sex Environments Affect their Development? * Single-sex classes within coeducational environments are likely to modify students' risktaking attitudes in economically important ways. To test this, we designed a controlled experiment using first year college students who made choices over real-stakes lotteries at two distinct dates. Students were randomly assigned to classes of three types: all female, all male, and coeducational. They were not allowed to change group subsequently. We found that women are less likely to make risky choices than men at both dates. However, after eight weeks in a single-sex environment, women were significantly more likely to choose the lottery than their counterparts in coeducational groups. These results are robust to the inclusion of controls for IQ and for personality type, as well as to a number of sensitivity tests. Our findings suggest that observed gender differences in behaviour under uncertainty found in previous studies might partly reflect social learning rather than inherent gender traits. JEL Classification:C9, C91, C92, J16, D01, D80, J16, J24

Closing or reproducing the gender gap? Parental transmission, social norms and education choice

“…Although many personality traits may in part be biologically determined, for example differences in testosterone levels and risk aversion in Maestripieri et al (2009) Booth and Nolen (2012a, b) and Booth et al (2014) find that girls from single-sex schools behave more like boys in terms of risk attitudes and willingness to compete. The authors speculate that girls may reinforce stereotypical behaviour to appear attractive when boys are present, while boys may exhibit assertiveness to attract the opposite sex and reduce threats from competitors.…”

Salience, risky choices and gender

“…The Big Five personality traits were constructed following Heineck (2007). See Booth, Cardona Sosa and Nolen (2011) for further details.. 5 See row 6 in Table 1; men are more likely to pick option A in Q2 after choosing option B in Q1.…”

Older sisters and younger brothers: The impact of siblings on preference for competition

“…This gender difference between the tribes suggests the importance of socially defined gender roles in shaping attitudes toward competition. Similarly, a series of studies by Alison Booth and her co-authors revealed that single-sex schools or classrooms nurture more competitive attitudes and encourage risk-taking behavior in women (Booth et al, 2014;Nolen, 2012a, 2012b;Booth et al, 2011). 8 There is also evidence that suggests that having same-sex instructors in introductory math or science courses encourages women to major in math or engineering (Carrell et al, 2010), indicating that having a same-sex role model is an environmental factor that could induce women to make choices that they otherwise would not.…”