Measuring the impact of interaction between children of a matrilineal and a patriarchal culture on gender differences in risk aversion

Abstract

Many studies find that women are more risk averse than men. Why does such a gender gap exist, and how malleable is this gender gap in risk aversion? The paper takes advantage of a rare setting in which children of the matrilineal Mosuo and the traditionally patriarchal Han attend the same schools in Yunnan, China to shed light on these questions. In particular, we exploit the fact that children would experience a shock in gender norms when they start to intermingle with children from other ethnic groups with the opposite gender norms at school. Using survey and field experiments, we elicit risk attitudes from Mosuo and Han elementary and middle school students. We find that, at the time when they first enter school, Mosuo and Han children exhibit opposite gender norms—Mosuo girls take more risks than Mosuo boys, while Han girls are more risk averse than Han boys, reflecting cultural differences. However, after Mosuo students spend more time with Han students, Mosuo girls become more and more risk averse. By age 11, Mosuo girls are also more risk averse than Mosuo boys. We also observe a shrinking gap in risk aversion for Han over time. Using random roommate assignment for boarding middle school students, we find Mosuo boys who have fewer Mosuo roommates behave more similarly to Han boys. This shows that risk preferences are shaped by culture and malleable in response to new environments.

The pandemic and the problem of compliance with safety measures: The case of Egypt

“…The full model estimates that income, financial satisfaction, and education are positively and being employed negatively linked to compliance ( t = 8.82, 4.76, 1.94, −2.68, respectively), supporting the proposition that compliance rests on one's capacity to follow the advice of medical authorities (van Rooij et al 2020 ) and that this capacity is structured by social class (Durizzo et al, 2021 ; Hoenig & Wenz, 2020 ; Wright et al, 2020 ). Being less risk‐averse (Liu & Zuo, 2019 ) and more mobile, men and youth are less likely to comply than women and the older age group ( t = −3.21 and −3.49, respectively), consistent with other studies (Barcelo and Capraro, 2020 , Zettler et al, 2020 ). Muslims are more likely to comply than Christians, but this link is weak and inconsistent across the models ( t ‐value varies from −2.52 to 2.50).…”

“…Women tend to observe the safety measure more closely than men because fewer among them have outside jobs, a higher percentage stay home and are thus less exposed to large crowds. Moreover, although gender difference in risk aversion has been the subject of debates (Nelson, 2014 ), evidence suggests that in patriarchal cultures women tend to be more risk‐averse than men (Liu & Zuo, 2019 ), or men are more likely to avoid facemask than women because they tend to consider it as a sign of weakness (Barcelo and Capraro, 2020 ). Finally, the young, being more risk‐prone and mobile and having a stronger sense of invincibility, are less likely to practice mitigation.…”

Gender Differences in Social Networks Based on Prevailing Kinship Norms in the Mosuo of China

“…Our analyses did not bear out the predicted interaction between gender and community, potentially due to our fairly small sample size. Although our qualitative assessment hardly stands on its own, in the context of other studies showing gender reversals in aspects of behavior (Gong et al, 2014;Gong & Yang, 2012;Liu & Zuo, 2019) and outcomes Reynolds et al, 2020) among matrilineal Mosuo relative to other patrilineal populations, we suspect that future work in a larger sample may bear out this prediction.…”

Current ecology, not ancestral dispersal patterns, influences menopause symptom severity

“…Ethnographic reports state that harmony is the ideal state within the household and that fissions between genetic kin are seldom observed and consciously avoided (Shih, ; Shih & Jenike, ). Furthermore, Mosuo women are highly autonomous (Liu & Zuo, ), which likely decreases their stress load making them better able to manage any negative menopause symptoms (Ahmad & Zakaria, ). On the other hand, there are more reports of social conflict among the Han and the Yi (Link, ).…”