Hormonal Contraceptives Do Not Impact Economic Preferences: Evidence from a Randomized Trial

Eva Ranehill, Niklas Zethraeus (), Liselott Blomberg (), Bo von Schoultz (), Angelica Lindén Hirschberg (), Magnus Johannesson and Anna Dreber
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Niklas Zethraeus: Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Liselott Blomberg: Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
Bo von Schoultz: Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
Angelica Lindén Hirschberg: Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska University Hospital, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden

Management Science, 2018, vol. 64, issue 10, 4515-4532

Abstract: A growing body of correlational studies suggests that sex hormones such as those contained in, or affected by, oral contraceptives (OCs) may impact economic behavior. However, despite widespread use of OCs among women in Western countries, little is known about their potential behavioral effects. The present study investigates whether OCs causally influence economic preferences. We randomly allocate 340 women aged 18–35 to three months of a widely used OC or placebo treatment. At the end of treatment, we conduct an economic experiment measuring altruism, financial risk taking, and willingness to compete. The statistical power is 80% to detect an effect size equal to a Cohen’s d of 0.30 at the 5% level. We find no significant effects of OCs on any of the measured preferences, indicating that this widely used OC treatment, commonly used throughout the world, does not significantly affect the measured economic preferences. Further, we find no relation between menstrual cycle phase and economic preferences in the placebo group.

Keywords: economic behavior; competitiveness; risk taking; altruism; hormones; oral contraceptives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:64:y:2018:i:10:p:4515-4532

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