Do Women Give Up Competing More Easily? Evidence from Speedcubers

Chao Fang, Ernest Zhang and Junfu Zhang
Additional contact information
Chao Fang: Clark University
Ernest Zhang: Hopkinton High School

No 14433, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We analyze a large sample of participants in mixed-gender Rubik's Cube competitions. Focusing on participants who barely made or missed the cut for the second round in a competition, we examine their likelihood of joining another competition in the future. We find a significant gender difference: Whereas boys are slightly discouraged by failing to qualify for the second round, girls are affected more and are more likely to give up forever. Furthermore, we find that this gender difference is most significant in countries with larger gender gaps in labor market outcomes.

Keywords: gender gap; competition; Rubik's Cube (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 J16 L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 13 pages
Date: 2021-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen and nep-spo
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published in: Economics Letters, 2021, 205, 109943.

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Journal Article: Do women give up competing more easily? Evidence from speedcubers (2021)
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