Research Project: An Experimental Study on the Economics of Self-Confidence, Motivation, Gender and Incentives
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Contributors
Funders
ID
EC.00008
Authors
Ertaç, Seda
Faculty Member
Publications
On the cultural basis of gender differences in negotiation
(Springer, 2018) Ertaç, Seda; Andersen, Steffen; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A.; Maximiano, Sandra; Department of Economics; Yes; College of Administrative Sciences and Economics
We study how culture and social structure influence bargaining behavior across gender, by exploring the negotiation culture in matrilineal and patriarchal societies using data from a laboratory experiment and a natural field experiment. One interesting result is that in both the actual marketplace and in the laboratory bargaining game, women in the matrilineal society earn more than men, at odds with years of evidence observed in the western world. We find that this result is critically driven by which side of the market the person is occupying: female (male) sellers in the matrilineal (patriarchal) society extract more of the bargaining surplus than male (female) sellers. In the buyer role, however, we observe no significant differences across societies.
Preference communication and leadership in group decision-making
(Elsevier, 2019) Ertaç, Seda; Gurdal, Mehmet Y.; Department of Economics; Yes; College of Administrative Sciences and Economics
We report results from a laboratory experiment that explores the effects of preference communication and leader selection mechanisms in group decision-making. In a setting where all members of a group get the same payoff based on the leader's decision of how much risk to take, we study (1) how group members communicate their preferences to the leader, (2) whether and how the leader incorporates the communicated preferences into his/her decision. We vary the leader selection mechanism as a treatment variable and consider cases where the leader is exogenously appointed or voluntarily self-selects into the position. We find that communicated preferences have a significant effect on actual group decisions, and that leaders’ compromise between their own preferences and the preferences of others. The data also reveal that individual characteristics matter in both what kind of suggestions are communicated to the leader, and whether leaders are likely to stick to their own preferences or compromise when making group decisions: Women and individuals who are more trusting of others are more likely to manipulate their own preferences when communicating them and more likely to compromise in response to others’ preferences as leaders.
Gender, competitiveness, and socialization at a young age: evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Press, 2013) Ertaç, Seda; Andersen, Steffen; Gneezy, Uri; List, John A.; Maximiano, Sandra; Department of Economics; Yes; College of Administrative Sciences and Economics
Recent literature presents evidence that men are more competitively inclined than women. Since top-level careers usually require competitiveness, competitiveness differences provide an explanation for gender gaps in wages and differences in occupational choice. A natural question is whether women are born less competitive or whether they become so through the process of socialization. To pinpoint when in the socialization process the difference arises, we compare the competitiveness of children in matrilineal and patriarchal societies. We find that while there is no difference at any age in the matrilineal society, girls become less competitive around puberty in the patriarchal society.
Deciding to decide: gender, leadership and risk-taking in groups
(Elsevier, 2012) Ertaç, Seda; Gürdal, Mehmet Y.; Department of Economics; Yes; College of Administrative Sciences and Economics
Being the leader in a group often involves making risky decisions that affect the payoffs of all members, and the decision to take this responsibility in a group is endogenous in many contexts. In this paper, we experimentally study: (1) the willingness of men and women to make risky decisions on behalf of a group, (2) the amount of risk men and women take for the group, in comparison to their individual decisions. We observe a striking difference between males and females, with a much lower fraction of women being willing to make the group decision than men. The amount of risk taken for the group is generally lower than in the case where subjects decide for themselves only, indicating a cautious shift. The women that would like to make the group decision and the women that do not are no different in terms of how much risk they take for themselves, nor for their group. For men, on the other hand, we find that the ones who would like to lead tend to take more risk on behalf of the group.
