Gender differences in willingness to compete

Asistencia presencial: Sala de Juntas, E1-0, Campus de Córdoba (Calle Escritor Aguayo, 4).

Abstract: This thesis investigates gender differences in willingness to compete using experimental data collected from 314 university students in Madagascar. Building on behavioral economics literature, it explores whether women are systematically less inclined than men to enter competitive environments. Unlike previous studies that often rely on stereotypically masculine tasks, this research introduces an empathy-based task to evaluate competitiveness in a domain presumed to favor female participants. The results of multiple regression models show that there are no statistically significant gender differences in willingness to compete, even after adjusting for individual traits and sociodemographic factors. Although women in the sample outperform men in the empathy task, this performance advantage does not translate into a greater willingness to compete. These findings suggest that gender disparities may be context-specific and less pronounced in more mature academic populations. The study contributes to the ongoing debate on gender gaps in economic behavior and offers insights for education and policy aimed at fostering gender equality.

Link al seminario: https://loyola.webex.com/meet/rede3c