Signaling confidence

Elif Demiral and Johanna Mollerstrom

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2024, vol. 226, issue C

Abstract: We study gender differences in confidence in an experimental hiring market, focusing on how signaling confidence affects the likelihood of being hired. We document that moderate (versus low) levels of confidence enhance the probability of being hired, while excessive confidence, characterized by high performance estimates and high certainty, diminishes employment prospects. Men display greater levels of confidence than women, and this gender gap widens in forward-looking scenarios, where performance estimates are provided ex ante rather than ex post. These findings provide a cautionary reminder of the potential negative consequences of signaling excessive confidence. Hence, encouraging both men and women to signal performance predictions that are aligned with reality instead of simply advising women to be more confident may well be a safer way to foster equity in labor market outcomes.

Keywords: gender; confidence; employment; experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D90 J70 M51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:226:y:2024:i:c:s016726812400297x

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.106691

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