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

Uri Gneezy, Kenneth Leonard () and John List ()

No 13727, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This study uses 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 amongst the Khasi, where women choose the competitive environment more often than Khasi men, and even choose to compete weakly more often than Maasai men. We view these results as potentially providing insights into the underpinnings of the factors hypothesized to be determinants of the observed gender differences in selecting into competitive environments.

JEL-codes: C9 C91 C93 J15 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa and nep-exp
Date: 2008-01
Note: LE LS PE
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Related works:
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence from a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society (2007)
Journal Article: Gender Differences in Competition: Evidence From a Matrilineal and a Patriarchal Society (2009)
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