Program content

The purpose of this course is to familiarize the students with the economics of gender. This is a fast-growing area of research in economics. The focus will be on the latest methodological developments and innovative empirical approaches, which will be thoroughly presented and discussed. The aim is to enable participants to critically assess and replicate existing studies, as well as to come up with new research ideas.
The main questions tackled cover the rationale for the persistence of gender inequality in paid work unpaid work, and beyond, the economic costs of inequality, and the efficacy of quotas and other policy interventions.

Structure

Gender Gaps in the Labour Market - Thomas Breda
Cultural Gender Norms - Claudia Senik
Gender Quotas - Elena Stancanelli
Women in STEM - Thomas Breda
Gender Inequalities in Health - Pierre-Yves Geoffard
Gender and health in childhood and adolescence - Benedicte Apouey
Gender Biases and Stereotypes : Research Methods - Elena Stancanelli
Gender and Negotiation - Nagore Iriberri
Women in Academia - Nagore Iriberri
Household Time Allocation & the American Time Use Survey - Elena Stancanelli
Gender Based Violence - Elena Stancanelli

Workshop : present your paper
Participants will have the opportunity to submit a paper to be presented within this program. Selected papers will be presented in front of participants and faculty in slots reserved for such presentations.

Gender inequality in the Labour Market - Thomas Breda

Overview
This introductory lecture will provide a general overview on the extent of gender inequality in the labour market, its evolution over the past decades and its main possible determinants. Starting from a description of unconditional and conditional gender wage gaps in various countries, it will discuss in turn the possible causes of these gaps : discrimination, segregation across occupations and firms, working time and career trajectories around child birth, differences in preferences or “psychological traits”, etc. Existing and possible policy interventions will finally be discussed along with their justification.

Structure

Overview of gender inequality at work across countries and time
Review of possible explanations
General discussion of possible policy intervention

Selected key references

Blau, F. D., L. M. Kahn. Gender differences in pay. Journal of Economic perspectives, 2000.
Blau, F. D., L. M. Kahn. The gender earnings gap : learning from international comparisons. The American Economic Review, 1992.
Blau, F. D., L. M. Kahn. The gender pay gap : Have women gone as far as they can ?. In Inequality in the United States : A Reader. Routledge, 2020.
Breda, T., Dutronc-Postel, P., Parraud, J. S., M. Tô. Gender pay gaps within companies. IPP brief, 2021.
Goldin Claudia. A Grand Gender Convergence : Its Last Chapter. American Economic Review, 2014.

Cultural Gender Norms – Claudia Senik

Overview
Gender inequalities are supported by traditional gender roles and identities, and form ‘a cultural equilibrium’. But different gender cultures can form depending on the institutions in each country. Remarkably, the institutions that were set up in the socialist bloc have durably modified the behaviour of women and the relations between spouses within the household. The new culture that emerged from this experience has resisted the disappearance of institutions and mechanisms that promoted women’s work and autonomy. This cultural legacy is clearly illustrated by the different behaviour of women living in the Länder of the former East versus West Germany.

Structure

The division of tasks within the household : East versus West
Performance in Math and Science : a smaller gender gap in former socialist countries
Educational choices : the specific gender culture of descendants of former socialist countries

Selected key references

Beblo, M. and L. Gorges. On the nature of nurture. The malleability of gender differences in work preferences. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2018.
Bertrand, M., Kamenica, E. and J. Pan. Gender identity and relative income within Households. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2015.
Campa, P. and M. Serafinelli. Politico-economic regimes and attitudes : female workers under state-socialism. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2019.
Friedman-Sokuler N. and C. Senik. From Pink-Collar to Lab Coat : Cultural Persistence and Diffusion of Socialist Gender Norms. IZA DP 2022.
Lippmann Q. and C. Senik. Math, Girls, and Socialism. Journal of Comparative economics, 2018.
Lippmann Q., Georgieff A. and C. Senik. Undoing gender with institutions. Lessons from the German division and reunification. The Economic Journal, 2020.
Nollenberger, N., Rodriguez-Planas, N., A. Sevilla. The Math Gender Gap : The Role of Culture. American Economic Review, 2016.

Gender Quotas - Elena Stancanelli

Overview
Gender quotas have emerged as one of the most widespread measures to reduce gender inequalities, and are implemented especially in politics and private companies. It is undeniable that quotas have substantially increased women’s representation at the top of the hierarchy, though often entailing little downfall effects, and « stigmatization » of the beneficiaries. The optimal design of quotas has been the object of debate tackling questions such as : whether « soft » quotas (such as positive assortative discrimination) may be preferable to quotas ; what would be the optimal quota, whether 30% or 40% or 50% ; whether quotas should be permanently enforced or only temporarily, and if so, for how long ; and extending quotas to other underrepresented groups, such as LGBTQ, disabled, ethnic minorities.

Structure

How effective are targeted policies such as gender quotas at reducing gender inequality ?
Do quotas have distortionary effects ?
Do quotas benefit individuals down the ladder, beyond the direct beneficiaries ?

Selected key references

Bagues Manuel, Mauro Sylos Labini, and Natalia Zinovyeva. “Does the Gender Composition of Scientific Committees Matter”, American Economic Review, 2017.
Beaman, Lori, Esther Duflo, Rohini Pande, and Petia Topalova. Female Leadership Raises Aspirations and Educational Attainment for Girls : A Policy Experiment in India. Science, 2012.
Bertrand, Marianne, Sandra E. Black, Sissel Jensen, and Adriana Lleras-Muney. Breaking the Glass Ceiling ? The Effect of Board Quotas on Female Labour Market Outcomes in Norway. Review of Economic Studies, 2019.

Women in STEM - Thomas Breda

Overview
Fewer women than men specialize in Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Why women do not enter math-intensive fields such as physics or computer science ? Is this due to underlying discrimination, or to gender differences in academic performance, or to differences in educational choices made by students earlier on ? What is the role of gender norms in explaining these facts ?

Structure

Why should we care about the underrepresentation of women in STEM ?
Are women particularly discriminated against in STEM careers (in and outside academia) ?
Have women and men different abilities for math and science ? When do these differences emerge and can they explain differences in educational choices ?
Do female and male students of similar abilities make different educational choices and why is this the case ?
What are the possible policies to foster female participation in STEM ?

Selected key references

Ceci, S. J., Ginther, D. K., Kahn, S., W. M. Williams. Women in academic science : A changing landscape. Psychological science in the public interest, 2014.
Breda T, Grenet J, Monnet M, C. Van Effenterre. Do female role models reduce the gender gap in science ? Evidence from French high schools. Economic Journal, forthcoming.
Breda T, M. Hillion. Teaching accreditation exams reveal grading biases favor women in male-dominated disciplines in France. Science, 2016.
Breda T, Jouini E, C. Napp. Societal inequalities amplify gender gaps in math. Science, 2018.
Breda T, Jouini E, Napp C, G. Thebault. Gender stereotypes can explain the gender-equality paradox. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020.
Breda T, C. Napp. Girls’ comparative advantage in reading can largely explain the gender gap in math-related fields. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019.

Gender inequalities in Health - Pierre-Yves Geoffard

Overview
The starting point is the “gender health paradox” : women tend to be in worse health than men, but face lower mortality rates. In short : “men die, women suffer”. The course starts by documenting this empirical fact, and introduces several questions. Mortality can be easily defined and is well measured, but health is a much more complex issue, which calls for precise definitions and careful measures. By looking at how gender differences in health relate with socio-economic conditions such as income, education, and labour, the course will progressively introduce some possible causal pathways. A better understanding of socio-economic inequalities in health, and how to contain or reduce them, requires to investigate the social and individual determinants of health.

Structure

Empirical evidence of gender inequalities in health
Health and autonomy : definitions and measures
Gender, health, and socio-economic status : an intersectional approach
From correlation to causal interpretations : the augmented health care cascade

Selected key references

Cambois E. and JM.Robine (2013), “Healthy life expectancy in Europe,” Population and Societies n° 499.
Case, A. and A. Deaton (2017), “Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century.”, Brookings papers on economic activity, p. 397.
Murtin, F. and C. Lübker (2022), « Educational inequalities in longevity among OECD countries around 2016 », OECD Papers on Well-being and Inequalities, n° 8, Éditions OCDE, Paris.
Liudmila A., T. Bucher-Koenen, and F. Mazzonna (2017), “Long-term health consequences of recessions during working years,” Social Science & Medicine, 187 : 134-143.

Gender and health in childhood and adolescence - Benedicte Apouey

Overview
A manifestation of gender inequalities and norms remains sex-selective abortion in some countries, leading to a distorted sex ratio at birth. Moreover, an extensive literature highlights the detrimental effect of inequitable gender norms on health during childhood : for example, boys are breastfed longer or receive more childcare than girls, in some countries. In adolescence, gender norms predict sex differences in deaths, health behaviours, and diseases between boys and girls. We will review the multiple and long-lasting impacts of norms and attitudes on mortality and morbidity, for girls and boys, and present the mechanisms underlying these effects. We will also discuss policies and interventions changing gender-related preferences and attitudes during their formation in adolescence.

Structure

Gender norms, male-skewed sex ratios at birth, and child health
Restrictive norms and the different health trajectories of boys and girls during adolescence

Selected key references

Bao X, Galiani S, Li K, Long C X (2023). Where have all the children gone ? An empirical study of child abandonment and abduction in China. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 208, 95-119.
Barcellos S H, Carvalho L S, Lleras-Muney A (2014). Child gender and parental investments in India : Are boys and girls treated differently ? American Economic Journal : Applied Economics, 6(1), 157-89.
Bharadwaj P, Lakdawala L K (2013). Discrimination begins in the womb : Evidence of sex-selective prenatal investments. The Journal of Human Resources, 48(1), 71–113.
Campbell O L, Bann D, Patalay P (2021). The gender gap in adolescent mental health : A cross-national investigation of 566,829 adolescents across 73 countries. SSM-Population Health, 13, 100742.
Deng Z, Lindeboom M (2022). A bit of salt, a trace of life : Gender norms and the impact of a salt iodization program on human capital formation of school aged children. Journal of Health Economic, 83, 102614.

Gender Biases and Stereotypes : research methods – Elena Stancanelli

Overview
This course will focus on new recent research methods deployed in the economics literature to measure and possibly, affect implicit gender biases and stereotypes, providing a discussion and illustrating how to implement them in practice. The focus will be on surveys with randomized elements, Implicit Association Tests (IAT) and Anchoring Vignettes.

Structure

How does randomizing female participation to teams at work affect men’s gender attitudes ?
How to detect, measure, and change implicit gender biases ?
Designing surveys with Implicit Association Test and Anchoring Vignette Studies

Selected key references

Dahl, Gordon B., Andreas Kotsadam, Dan-Olof Roth. Does Integration Change Gender Attitudes ? The effect of randomly assigning women to traditionally male teams. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2021.
Greenwald, Anthony G., Debbie E. McGhee, and Jordan L. K. Schwartz. Measuring Individual Differences in Implicit Cognition : The Implicit Association Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998.
Henning Finseraas, Åshild A. Johnsen, Andreas Kotsadam, Gaute Torsvik. Exposure to female colleagues breaks the glass ceiling—Evidence from a combined vignette and field experiment. European Economic Review, 2016.
King, G., Murray, C. J. L., Salomon, J. and A. Tandon. Enhancing the validity and cross-cultural comparability of measurement in survey research. American Political Science Review, 2004.
Kübler, Dorothea, Julia Schmid, Robert Stuber, (2018) Gender discrimination in hiring across occupations : a nationally-representative vignette study, Labour Economics.

Gender and Negotiation - Nagore Iriberri

Overview
Women are expected to negotiate less often and get worse deals from negotiations than men. In this course, we review the work in psychology and economics with regard to gender differences in entry into negotiation and gender differences in bargaining outcomes. Ambiguity seems to be the key factor in understanding these differences : ambiguity with respect to whether it is appropriate to negotiate, as well as ambiguity with respect to what one should expect out of the negotiation.

Structure

Gender and negotiations : From “Women don´t ask” to gender differences in negotiation.
Laboratory methods : how to use the laboratory elicitation to study gender and negotiation.
Ambiguity : key element to understand gender differences in negotiation.
Usual suspects : risk preferences, confidence and stereotypes.

Selected key references

Babcock, L., S. Laschever. Women dont ask. In Women Dont Ask. Princeton University Press, 2009.
Exley, C. L., & Kessler, J. B. (2022). The gender gap in self-promotion. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 137(3), 1345-1381.
Hernandez-Arenaz, I., N. Iriberri. A review of gender differences in negotiation, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Economics and Finance, 2019.
Hernandez-Arenaz, I., N. Iriberri. Gender differences in alternating-offer bargaining : An experimental study. Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2018.
Hernandez-Arenaz, I., N. Iriberri. Women ask for less (only from men) : Evidence from bargaining in the field. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2018.
Hospido, L., Laeven, L., & Lamo, A. (2022). The gender promotion gap : evidence from central banking. Review of Economics and Statistics, 104(5), 981-996.
Leibbrandt, A., & List, J. A. (2015). Do women avoid salary negotiations ? Evidence from a large-scale natural field experiment. Management Science, 61(9), 2016-2024.
Niederle, M., & Vesterlund, L. (2011). Gender and competition. Annual Review of Economics, 3(1), 601-630.

Women in Academia - Nagore Iriberri

Overview
Women are underrepresented in many disciplines in academia. This course will present the latest findings of gender differences in scholar output, editorial process, peer recognition and representation in the top scientific societies. The main focus will be in the field of economics, where female representation has been historically low and only recently has reached 20%. Then, we will compare economics with other fields such as psychology and mathematics. Academia offers a big advantage over other labor sectors : productivity measures (in the form of accumulated publications and citations) can be observed and measured.

Structure

Women in academia : gender differences in editorial process and peer recognition.
Methodology : data construction through web scraping, new research opportunities.
From economics to other disciplines

Selected key references

Card, D., DellaVigna, S., Funk, P., N. Iriberri. Are referees and editors in economics gender neutral ? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2020.
Card, D., DellaVigna, S., Funk, P., N Iriberri. Gender differences in peer recognition by economists. Econometrica, 2022.
Card, D., DellaVigna, S., Funk, P., N. Iriberri. Gender Gaps at the Academies. National Bureau of Economic Research WP, 2022.
Chari, A., & Goldsmith-Pinkham, P. (2017). Gender representation in economics across topics and time : Evidence from the NBER summer institute (No. w23953). National Bureau of Economic Research.
Ginther, D. K., & Kahn, S. (2004). Women in economics : moving up or falling off the academic career ladder ?. Journal of Economic perspectives, 18(3), 193-214.
Hengel, E. (2022). Publishing while female : Are women held to higher standards ? Evidence from peer review. The Economic Journal, 132(648), 2951-2991.
Hospido, L., & Sanz, C. (2021). Gender gaps in the evaluation of research : evidence from submissions to economics conferences. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 83(3), 590-618.
Sarsons, H., Gërxhani, K., Reuben, E., & Schram, A. (2021). Gender differences in recognition for group work. Journal of Political Economy, 129(1), 101-147.

Household Time Allocation & the American Time Use Survey - Elena Stancanelli

Overview
This course will present the concepts and practice of household time allocation, which form the roots of the economics of gender. The theoretical model of household decision making, encompassing labour supply, consumption and household production decisions will be intuitively presented. Time Use Diaries, which are the unique data tool to measure the hours devoted to paid work, unpaid domestic work, parental time, and leisure time will be illustrated with an application for the American Time Use Survey.

Structure

Theoretical framework of Household Decision Making and Time Allocation
The gendered allocation of time
Time diaries : the American Time Use Survey

Selected key references

Apps, Patricia and Ray Rees. Collective Labor Supply and Household Production, Journal of Political Economy, 1997.
Chiappori, Pierre Andre. Introducing Household Production in Collective Models of Labour Supply. Journal of Political Economy, 1997.
Ramey, Valerie 2009. Time Spent in Home Production in the 20th Century : New Estimates from Old Data. The Journal of Economic History, vol. 69(01), pages 1-47.

Gender Based Violence - Elena Stancanelli

Overview
Gender Based Violence (GBV) includes both physical and verbal violence and harassment, as well as cyberviolence and bullying. GBV encompasses any form of violence and harassment based on gender. GBV is illegal according to several national and international laws, and it is not only problematic for fairness reasons but also economically costly, as well documented in the literature on the costs of workplace harassment and domestic violence. Retaliation, backlash, and institutional failure to address GBV have been examined in a thin but growing economic literature, which pinpoints that the (often “serial”) perpetrators are often at the top of the hierarchy, while survivors may combine different minority threats (such as being a migrant on a temporary job or a disabled LGBTQ), which makes them especially vulnerable in the eyes of the perpetrators.

Structure

The economics costs of workplace harassment and domestic violence
Paying workers more does not increase retention rates at workplaces with high GBV risk
Which measures reduce GBV risk and backlash ?

Selected key references

Amaral, S, G B Dahl, V Endl-Geyer, T Hener and H Rainer (2023), “Deterrence or Backlash ? Arrests and the Dynamics of Domestic Violence”, NBER Working Paper 30855.
Bhalotra, S, D Britto, P Pinotti and B Sampaio (2021), “Job displacement, unemployment benefits and domestic violence”, CEPR Discussion Paper DP16350.
Folke, Olle and Johanna Rickne. Sexual Harassment and Gender Inequality in the Labor Market. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2022.
Wu, Alice. Gender Bias in Rumors Among Professionals : An Identity-based Interpretation. Review of Economics and Statistics, 2020.

Contents - The Economics of Gender