Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour: Does Nurture Matter?

Alison Lee Booth () and Patrick J. Nolen ()

No 7198, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Women and men may differ in their propensity to choose a risky outcome because of innate preferences or because pressure to conform to gender-stereotypes encourages girls and boys to modify their innate preferences. Single-sex environments are likely to modify students' risk-taking preferences in economically important ways. To test this, we designed a controlled experiment in which subjects were given an opportunity to choose a risky outcome - a real-stakes gamble with a higher expected monetary value than the alternative outcome with a certain payoff - and in which the sensitivity of observed risk choices to environmental factors could be explored. The results of our real-stakes gamble show that gender differences in preferences for risk-taking are indeed sensitive to whether the girl attends a single-sex or coed school. Girls from single-sex schools are as likely to choose the real-stakes gamble as much as boys from either coed or single sex schools, and more likely than coed girls. Moreover, gender differences in preferences for risk-taking are sensitive to the gender mix of the experimental group, with girls being more likely to choose risky outcomes when assigned to all-girl groups. This suggests that observed gender differences in behaviour under uncertainty found in previous studies might reflect social learning rather than inherent gender traits.

Keywords: coeducation; controlled experiment; gender; identity; risk attitudes; risk aversion; single-sex schooling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C9 C91 C92 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
Date: 2009-03
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Related works:
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour: Does Nurture Matter? (2009)
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour: Does Nurture Matter? (2009)
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Risk Behaviour: Does Nurture Matter? (2009)
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