Exploring gendered behavior in the field with experiments: Why public goods are provided by women in a Nairobi slum

Fiona Greig and Iris Bohnet

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2009, vol. 70, issue 1-2, 1-9

Abstract: Women, and particularly women in all-female groups, appear to be especially adept at providing public goods in developing countries. We use a one-shot Public Goods game to explore the effect of sex and a group's sex composition on the voluntary provision of public goods in a Nairobi slum. Sex heterogeneity hurts the voluntary provision of public goods because women--but not men--contribute less in mixed-sex than same-sex groups. Women contribute as much as men in same-sex groups. This result is driven by women's pessimism and men's optimism about others' contributions in mixed-sex groups rather than by gendered social preferences.

Keywords: Public; goods; Gender; Field; experiments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:70:y:2009:i:1-2:p:1-9

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