| By: |
Bandiera, Oriana;
Parekh, Nidhi;
Petrongolo, Barbara;
Rao, Michelle |
| Abstract: |
Gender differences in self-confidence could explain women's under
representation in high-income occupations and glass-ceiling effects. We draw
lessons from the economic literature via a survey of experts and a Bayesian
hierarchical model that aggregates experimental findings over the last twenty
years. The experts' survey indicates beliefs that men are overconfident and
women under-confident. Yet, the literature reveals that both men and women are
typically overconfident. Moreover, the model cannot reject the hypothesis that
gender differences in self-confidence are equal to zero. In addition, the
estimated pooling factor is low, implying that each study contains little
information over a common phenomenon. The discordance can be reconciled if the
experts overestimate the pooling factor or have priors that are biased and
precise. |
| Keywords: |
gender gaps; overconfidence; Bayesian hierarchical model |
| JEL: |
C91 J16 |
| Date: |
2021–12–17 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:113814&r= |