Gender differences in reservation wages in search experiments

Andrew McGee and Peter McGee

Labour Economics, 2025, vol. 94, issue C

Abstract: Women report setting lower reservation wages than men in survey data. We show that women set reservation wages that are 14 to 18 percent lower than men's in laboratory search experiments that control for factors not fully observed in surveys such as offer distributions and outside options. This gender gap—which exists even controlling for overconfidence, preferences, personality, and intelligence—leads women to spend less time searching than men while accepting lower wages. More risk tolerant women set reservation wages that are too low early in search relative to theoretically optimal reservation wages given their risk preferences, reducing their earnings.

Keywords: Reservation wages; Gender wage gaps; Search experiments; Jel codes: j16; J64; C91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Working Paper: Gender Differences in Reservation Wages in Search Experiments (2023)
Working Paper: Gender Differences in Reservation Wages in Search Experiments (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:labeco:v:94:y:2025:i:c:s0927537125000259

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102698

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