Gender Differences in Job Search and the Earnings Gap: Evidence from the Field and Lab

Patricia Cortés, Jessica Pan, Ernesto Reuben, Laura Pilossoph and Basit Zafar

No 28820, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper investigates gender differences in the job search process, both in the field and lab. First, we collect rich information on initial job offers and acceptances from undergraduates of Boston University's Questrom School of Business. We document two novel empirical facts: (1) there is a clear gender difference in the timing of job offer acceptance, with women accepting jobs substantially earlier than men, and (2) there is a clear gender earnings gap in accepted offers, which narrows in favor of women over the course of the job search period. To rationalize these patterns, we develop a job search model that incorporates gender differences in risk aversion and over-optimism about prospective offers. We validate the model's assumptions and predictions using the survey data, and present empirical evidence that the job search patterns in the field can be partly explained by the greater risk aversion displayed by women and the higher levels of over-optimism displayed by men. Next, we replicate the findings from the field in a specially-designed laboratory experiment that features sequential job search, and provide direct evidence on the purported mechanisms. Our findings highlight the importance of risk preferences and beliefs for gender differences in job-finding behavior, and consequently, early-career wage gaps among the highly-skilled.

JEL-codes: D83 D91 J64 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published as Patricia Cortés & Jessica Pan & Laura Pilossoph & Ernesto Reuben & Basit Zafar, 2023. "Gender Differences in Job Search and the Earnings Gap: Evidence from the Field and Lab," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol 138(4), pages 2069-2126.

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