Gender, AI, and Selection into Competition

Last registered on March 31, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Gender, AI, and Selection into Competition
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018205
Initial registration date
March 24, 2026

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
March 31, 2026, 9:51 AM EDT

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

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Martin Abel
Affiliation
Middlebury College
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Athalia Esty
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-03-25
End date
2026-06-30
Keywords
Behavior, Lab, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We study how the presence of AI affects the widely documented gender gap in selection into competition. Specifically, we conduct a lab experiment in which we randomize whether people have access to AI tools in solving tasks. We test how this affects the decision to select into competitive environments vs an individual piece rate and how this effect varies by gender. We also explore different mechanisms that may explain the effect on the gender gap in competition.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Abel, Martin and Athalia Esty. 2026. "Gender, AI, and Selection into Competition." AEA RCT Registry. March 31. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18205-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
More details are provided in the pre-analysis plan.
Intervention Start Date
2026-03-25
Intervention End Date
2026-06-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Selection into competition.
Performance beliefs

More details are provided in the pre-analysis plan.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We conduct a lab experiment in which we randomize whether people have access to AI tools in solving tasks. We test the effect on preference to select into competitive environments and how this varies by gender. We also explore different mechanisms that may explain the effect on the gender gap in competition. We also randomize whether you are assigned to tournament / piece rate used based on your preferences or by lottery. This experiment is conducted on Prolific with participants from the US.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
by computer (Qualtrics)
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
1,500 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
1,500 observations
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Half of participants will be assigned to the AI and half to the no-AI group.

One third of participants are randomly assigned to tournament, one third to piece rate, and one third according to their stated preference.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Bowdoin College IRB
IRB Approval Date
2026-02-24
IRB Approval Number
IRB-2026-5
Analysis Plan

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