Econometrica

Journal Of The Econometric Society

An International Society for the Advancement of Economic
Theory in its Relation to Statistics and Mathematics

Edited by: Guido W. Imbens • Print ISSN: 0012-9682 • Online ISSN: 1468-0262

Econometrica: Sep, 2009, Volume 77, Issue 5

Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society

https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA6690
p. 1637-1664

Uri Gneezy, Kenneth L. Leonard, John A. List

We use 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 among the Khasi, where women choose the competitive environment more often than Khasi men, and even choose to compete weakly more often than Maasai men. These results provide insights into the underpinnings of the factors hypothesized to be determinants of the observed gender differences in selecting into competitive environments.


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Supplemental Material

Supplement to "Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence from a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society"

Tables I-V and a sample of survey.