Maybe the Boys Just Like Economics More - The Gender Gap and the Role of Personality Type in Economics Education

Stephen Hickson ()
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Stephen Hickson: University of Canterbury, https://www.canterbury.ac.nz

Working Papers in Economics from University of Canterbury, Department of Economics and Finance

Abstract: Do females achieve lower grades in economics than males? What role does personality type play in any difference if one exists? This study examines a cohort of first year students who all took Principles of Economics courses and completed the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator questionnaire at a large publically funded New Zealand university. I find that males do enjoy a comparative advantage in economics (or females a comparative disadvantage). This does not disappear when personality type is controlled for but does persist. Some personality types also achieve higher grades in their study than others. Most studies in the literature have tended to focus on economics but I am able to conduct the same analysis on the other first year courses that these students take. This enables a point of comparison allowing me to examine if gender and personality type effects are unique to economics or whether economics is actually no different to other disciplines.

Keywords: Principles of Economics; Gender; Personality Type; Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 18 pages
Date: 2016-06-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-edu
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cbt:econwp:16/07

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