Competitiveness and the gender gap among young business professionals

Luigi Zingales, Paola Sapienza and Ernesto Reuben

No 10924, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Using an incentivized measure of test for competition, this paper investigates whether this taste explains subsequent gender differences in earnings and industry choice in a sample of high-ability MBA graduates. We find that ?competitive? individuals earn 9% more than their less competitive counterparts do. Moreover, gender differences in taste for competition explain around 10% of the overall gender gap. We also find that competitive individuals are more likely to work in high-paying industries nine years later, which suggests that the relation between taste for competition and earnings persists in the long run. Lastly, we find that the effect of taste for competition emerges over time when MBAs and firms interact with each other.

Keywords: Business career; Gender differences; Gender gap; Taste for competition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D81 D84 I21 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-hrm and nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (88)

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Working Paper: Competitiveness and the Gender Gap among Young Business Professionals (2015)
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