Browsing by Author "Ranehill, Eva"

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A man´s world? – The impact of a male dominated environment on female leadership
(University of Gothenburg, 2018-11) Born, Andreas; Ranehill, Eva; Sandberg, Anna; Dept. of Economics, University of Gothenburg
Despite the significant growth in female labor force participation and educational attainment over the past decades, few women reach leadership positions. In this study, we explore whether male dominated environments, in and of themselves, adversely affect women´s willingness to lead a team. We find that women randomly assigned to male majority teams are less willing to become team leaders than women assigned to female majority teams. Analyses of potential mechanisms show that women in male majority teams are less confident in their relative performance, less influential, and more swayed by others in team discussions. They also (accurately) believe that they will receive less support from team members in a leadership election. Taken together, our results indicate that the absence of women in male dominated contexts may be a self-reinforcing process.
Are women less effective leaders than men? Evidence from experiments using coordination games
(2020-11) Heursen, Lea; Ranehill, Eva; Weber, Roberto A; Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg
We study whether one reason behind female underrepresentation in leadership is that female leaders are less effective at coordinating action by followers. Two experiments using coordination games investigate whether female leaders are less successful than males in persuading followers to coordinate on efficient equilibria. Group performance hinges on higher-order beliefs about the leader’s capacity to convince followers to pursue desired actions, making beliefs that women are less effective leaders potentially self-confirming. We find no evidence that such bias impacts actual leadership performance, identifying a precisely-estimated null effect. We show that this absence of an effect is surprising given experts’ priors.
Do Gender Preference Gaps Impact Policy Outcomes?
(2017-11) Ranehill, Eva; Weber, Roberto A.; Dept. of Economics, University of Gothenburg
A large body of evidence documents systematic gender differences in a variety of important economic preferences, such as risk-taking, competition and pro-sociality. One potential implication of this literature is that increased female representation in decision-making bodies may significantly affect organizational and policy outcomes. However, research has yet to establish a direct connection from gender differences in simple economic choice tasks, to voting over policy and to the resulting outcomes. We conduct a laboratory experiment to provide a test of such a connection. In small laboratory “societies,” people repeatedly vote for a redistribution policy and engage in a real-effort production task. In this environment, we observe a substantial difference in voting behavior, with women voting for significantly more egalitarian redistribution policies. This gender difference is large relative to other differences based on observable characteristics and is partly explained by gender gaps in economic preferences and in beliefs about relative performance. Gender voting gaps persist with experience and in environments with varying degrees of risk. We also observe policy differences between male- and female-controlled groups, though these are considerably smaller than the mean individual differences—a natural consequence of the aggregation of individual preferences into collective outcomes. Thus, we provide evidence for why substantial and robust gender differences in preferences may often fail to translate into differential policy outcomes with increased female representation in policymaking.
Gender Identity and Economic Decision Making
(University of Gothenburg, 2024-09) Ardila Brenoe, Anne; Eyibak, Zeynep; Heursen, Lea; Ranehill, Eva; Weber, Robert A; Department of Economics
Economic research on gender gaps in preferences and economic outcomes has focused on variation with respect to sex—a binary classification as either a “man” or “woman.” We validate a novel and simple measure of self-reported continuous gender identity (CGI) and explore whether gender identity correlates with variation in economic decisions and outcomes beyond the relationship with binary sex. We use four datasets (N=8,073) measuring various dimensions of economic preferences and educational and labor market outcomes for which prior research has documented gaps between men and women. Our analysis rejects the null hypothesis that CGI has no relationship with behaviors and preferences beyond the relationship with binary sex, particularly for men, and suggests that incorporating self-reported measures of gender identity may have value for understanding gender gaps and for targeting policy. However, when considering specific domains, the relationships vary in statistical significance and are often small.
Gender, risk preferences and willingness to compete in a random sample of the Swedish population
(University of Gothenburg, 2018-08) Boschini, Anne; Dreber, Anna; von Essen, Emma; Muren, Astri; Ranehill, Eva; Dept. of Economics, University of Gothenburg
Experimental results from student or other non-representative convenience samples often suggest that men, on average, are more risk-taking and competitive than women. Here we explore whether these gender preference gaps also exist in a simple random sample of the Swedish adult population. Our design comprises four different treatments to systematically explore how the experimental context may impact gender gaps; a baseline treatment, a treatment where participants are primed with their own gender, and a treatment where the participants know the gender of their counterpart (man or woman). We look at willingness to compete in two domains: a math task and a verbal task. We find no gender differences in risk preferences or in willingness to compete in the verbal task in this random sample. There is some support for men being more competitive than women in the math task, in particular in the pooled sample. The effect size is however considerably smaller than what is typically found. We further find no consistent impact of treatment on (the absence of) the gender gap in preferences.
The digit ratio (2D:4D) and economic preferences: no robust associations in a sample of 330 women
(University of Gothenburg, 2019-02) Parslow, Elle; Ranehill, Eva; Zethraeus, Niklas; Blomberg, Liselott; von Schoultz, Bo; Lindén Hirschberg, Angelica; Johannesson, Magnus; Dreber, Anna; Dept. of Economics, University of Gothenburg
Many studies report on the association between 2D:4D, a putative marker for prenatal testosterone exposure, and economic preferences. However, most of these studies have limited sample sizes and test multiple hypotheses (without preregistration). In this study we mainly replicate the common specifications found in the literature for the association between the 2D:4D ratio and risk taking, the willingness to compete, and dictator game giving separately. In a sample of 330 women we find no robust associations between any of these economic preferences and 2D:4D. We find no evidence of an effect for sixteen of the eighteen total regressions we run. The two regression specifications which are significant have not previously been reported and the associations are not in the expected direction, and therefore they are unlikely to represent a real effect.
The Impact of PhD Studies on Mental Health—A Longitudinal Population Study
(University of Gothenburg, 2024-09) Bergall, Sanna; Fernström, Clara; Ranehill, Eva; Sandberg, Anna; Department of Economics
Recent self-reported and cross-sectional survey evidence documents high levels of mental health problems among PhD students. We study the impact of PhD studies on mental health care uptake using Swedish administrative records of prescriptions for psychiatric medication for the full population of PhD students. First, we provide descriptive evidence that PhD students collect psychiatric medication at a higher rate than a matched sample of individuals holding a master’s degree, but at a lower rate than a matched sample from the general population. Second, we implement an event study analysis and document that, in the years preceding their PhD studies, prospective students collect psychiatric medication at a rate similar to that of a matched sample of individuals holding a master’s degree. However, following the start of PhD studies, the use of psychiatric medication among PhD students increasessubstantially. This upward trend continues throughout the course of PhD studies, with estimates showing a 40 percent increase by the fifth year compared to pre-PhD levels. After the fifth year, which represents the average duration of PhD studies in our sample, we observe a notable decrease in the utilization of psychiatric medication.