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Gender, competitiveness and reaction to defeat

Last registered on October 17, 2022
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Gender, competitiveness and reaction to defeat
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010102
Initial registration date
October 11, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 17, 2022, 5:36 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
France
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Claire Mollier
Affiliation
Nanterre Université
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Tarek Jaber-Lopez
PI Affiliation
Nanterre Université
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PI Name
Sarah Zaccagni
PI Affiliation
Copenhagen University
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2022-10-02
End date
2023-01-31
Keywords
Behavior, Gender, Lab
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Most of the existing literature on gender and competition is focused on women’s choices and authors are working on solutions to reduce the gap, in terms of entry into the competition. A lack of competitiveness can induce several issues in the labor market: low presence in highly
competitive (and high-paying) occupations, less access to promotion, or high hierarchical positions. These implications have an impact on the gender pay gap. Instead of conducting another analysis on the competitive behavior of women, our lab experiment aims to study men’s reactions after a defeat. Based on the hypothesis that men dislike competing against women, we assume that they are more likely to refuse to compete against a high-performing woman than against an abler man. Using a strategic method, our research seeks to elicit men’s and women’s behaviors in a context of repeated competition. Meanwhile, we investigate different reactions when giving the participants hypothetical information about the points gap with their opponent. Our results approach that men are more reluctant to compete against a woman. Since they still hold a large part of power over hiring decisions, they are an obstacle to equal pay for men and women.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Jaber-Lopez, Tarek, Claire Mollier and Sarah Zaccagni. 2022. "Gender, competitiveness and reaction to defeat." AEA RCT Registry. October 17. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10102-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2022-10-16
Intervention End Date
2022-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The key outcome variables are the decision to compete (enter into the tournament) which depends on the gender of the opponent and the switching point in this entry, which depends on the point gap with the opponent.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Our design reproduces the design used in Niederle and Vesterlund (2007) where subjects have to add up a set of five two-digit numbers. At first, subjects have to perform according to a piece rate payment scheme: they are paid 0.50€ for each correct answer. Then, they perform under a tournament payment scheme: they can earn 1.50€ for each problem solved if they have more correct answers than their randomly chosen opponent. After this stage, they have the choice between these two options of payment. Those who refused to compete (chose the piece rate payment scheme) are analyzed separately. At Stage 4, participants who chose the tournament payment scheme will have to choose if they want to compete again, against the same opponent, for hypothetical points gap.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
The randomization will be made in the laboratory, by randomly assigning participants to a computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
400
Sample size: planned number of observations
300-400 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
4 treatments (Men vs Men, Women vs Women, Men vs Women, No Information)
100 participants per treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Université Paris Nanterre
IRB Approval Date
2022-10-11
IRB Approval Number
N/A
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials