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on Gender |
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Issue of 2026–05–25
seven papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Pawel Bukowski; Hannah Yi Wei |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effect of intra-firm gender disparities on innovation using a unique longitudinal dataset of UK companies from 1996 to 2019. Utilising within-industry and within-firm variation, as well as an instrumental variable approach, we examine the effect of gender pay gap and female representation at the top, on patenting activity - measured by their headcount, number of citations, and economic value. In general, our findings indicate that gender parity does not negatively impact patenting. However, in more recent data, we uncover evidence suggesting that a lack of gender parity adversely affects both the quantity and quality of patents. |
| Keywords: | firm diversity, innovation, gender equality, gender wage gap |
| Date: | 2026–05–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp2179 |
| By: | Hanna Brosch; Elisabeth Grewenig; Philipp Lergetporer; Katharina Werner; Helen Zeidler |
| Abstract: | Gender norms about parental labor supply are central to explaining persistent gender inequalities in the labor market, yet their causal determinants remain poorly understood. We examine whether people’s gender attitudes are driven by mothers’ and fathers’ earnings, which may shape views about the efficient allocation of paid work and care. In a large-scale representative vignette experiment in Germany (N > 10, 000), we randomly vary pre-childbirth earnings and measure whether respondents recommend that the mother (father) stay home with the child while the father (mother) works full-time. Without specifying earnings, 90% recommend that the mother stay home. This share remains high when we specify that the mother earns less (93%). When she earns more, the share drops sharply to 47%, yet nearly half of respondents still recommend that the mother stay home. This asymmetric response rejects a purely income-based explanation of gender norms. Thus, economic circumstances shape gender attitudes, but deeply rooted norms persist even when they conflict with financial incentives. |
| Keywords: | gender norms, labor supply, gender, survey experiment |
| JEL: | C90 D13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12674 |
| By: | Dylla, Carolin |
| Abstract: | While financialization and rising inequalities are often regarded as challenges for fiscal redistribution policies, the role of monetary policy and financial markets is neglected. Although heterodox scholars are drawing attention to the distributional impacts of monetary policy, they are rarely related to dimensions of gender inequality. Indeed, monetary policy may contribute to the gender wealth gap via its effects on asset prices and interest rates should men and women systematically differ in their individual portfolio composition. Hence, I assess the following research question: Are there significant differences in portfolio choices between men and women in the United States of America in 2022? If so, what are the drivers of these differences? I employ the 2022 data wave of the Survey of Consumer Finances. Based on 1, 690 observations of single male and female households, I apply a two-stage Heckman selection model. I find that single men are not only more likely to hold stocks in their financial portfolio, but also hold relatively larger amounts thereof compared to single women. These differences in portfolio choices are further driven by diverging financial means and risk preferences between men and women. However, significant gender differences are not robust to the inclusion of other risky financial assets and the households' position as net debtors. Overall, rather than biologically determining risk preferences, this paper suggests that gender is an expression of a diverging male and female socioeconomic status. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Finance, Portfolio Choices, Monetary Policy, Survey of Consumer Finances, Distribution |
| JEL: | D31 G11 J16 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:341096 |
| By: | Annalisa Loviglio; Veronica Rattini; Federico Stronati |
| Abstract: | Do high-stakes exams widen gender gaps in academic performance? We study this question in early adolescence using Italy's lower-secondary exit exam. A 2017 reform removed the national standardized test from the final grade while preserving the requirement to take the same test, reducing stakes without changing content. Using administrative data on the full population of students and a difference-in-differences design, we compare gender gaps before and after the reform. We find no evidence that higher stakes disadvantage girls. If anything, girls perform slightly better relative to boys when the test has exam stakes, suggesting gender differences under pressure emerge later in education. |
| JEL: | I21 I24 J16 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1223 |
| By: | Andrew, Alison; Bandiera, Oriana; Costa Dias, Monica; Landais, Camille |
| Abstract: | We explore gender inequalities in paid and unpaid work with a focus on the UK. The average working-age woman in the UK earned 40% less than her male counterpart in 2019; sizeable gender gaps in participation, hours worked and hourly wages all contribute to this gap. We explore how these patterns have changed over the past 25 years and conclude that after accounting for women’s rising education, progress has been modest. At the same time, women do far more unpaid domestic work than men. We show how inequalities evolve around parenthood and highlight how the division of labour between parents appears remarkably unrelated to relative earnings potential. We discuss consequences of our findings for material inequality and for the economy at large. We discuss the likely impacts of various current and potential policies, including parental leave, childcare and the tax and benefit system. |
| Keywords: | gender; inequality; labour markets |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J31 J13 |
| Date: | 2024–07–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:137955 |
| By: | Dittrich, Maaike; Weißmüller, Kristina Sabrina (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Corruption is an unresolved issue in public administration worldwide, causing severe societal harm. Although research links greater female empowerment and participation in politics, government, and the labor force with lower levels of corruption, research on the relationship between gender and corruption in the context of public service provision is still scarce. Challenging the fairer sex hypothesis, this study explores the degree to which administrative corruption exercises a gendered burden on citizens and, using survey data of more than 64, 800 citizens nested in 54 countries/territories in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific, shows that women are disproportionally affected by distinct forms of administrative corruption. We find that women are significantly more likely to having to engage in bribery and favoritism to receive essential public services, and that gender inequality and the quality of public institutions significantly moderate these relationships. By highlighting the gendered burden of corruption, this study significantly advances our understand |
| Date: | 2026–05–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:nb6gu_v1 |
| By: | Sixian Shu; Midori Wakabayashi |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how spousal retirement affects psychological well-being in Chinese households using 2016–2020 China Family Panel Survey data. Exploiting statutory retirement ages as instruments in a two-stage least squares framework, we identify causal effects of retirement transitions. Results show clear gender asymmetries in these spillover effects. For men, a wife’s retirement increases life satisfaction regardless of the husband’s labor-force status, with further gains in depression and marital satisfaction once both partners retire. For women, a husband’s retirement raises depressive symptoms while the wife remains employed, but this effect disappears after her own retirement, when life satisfaction significantly improves. Mechanism analyses suggest these effects operate through gender-differentiated adjustments in household labor allocation and joint consumption patterns. These findings underscore that retirement in China is a collective family-level transition rather than an individual event, highlighting the role of institutional constraints and gender norms in shaping the welfare of aging couples. |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:toh:tupdaa:84 |