TY - JOUR
T1 - Gender Differences in Job Search and the Earnings Gap
T2 - Evidence from the Field and Lab
AU - Cortés, Patricia
AU - Pan, Jessica
AU - Pilossoph, Laura
AU - Reuben, Ernesto
AU - Zafar, Basit
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
PY - 2023/11/1
Y1 - 2023/11/1
N2 - This article investigates gender differences in the job search process in the field and lab. Our analysis is based on rich information on initial job offers and acceptances from undergraduates of Boston University's Questrom School of Business. We find (i) a clear gender difference in the timing of job offer acceptance, with women accepting jobs substantially earlier than men, and (ii) a sizable gender earnings gap in accepted offers, which narrows in favor of women over the course of the job search period. To understand these patterns, we develop a job search model that incorporates gender differences in risk aversion and overoptimism about prospective offers. We validate the model's assumptions and predictions using the survey data and present empirical evidence that the job search patterns in the field can be partly explained by the greater risk aversion displayed by women and the higher levels of overoptimism displayed by men. We replicate these findings in a laboratory experiment that features sequential job search and provide direct evidence on the purported mechanisms. Our findings highlight the importance of risk preferences and beliefs for gender differences in job-finding behavior and, consequently, early-career wage gaps among the highly educated.
AB - This article investigates gender differences in the job search process in the field and lab. Our analysis is based on rich information on initial job offers and acceptances from undergraduates of Boston University's Questrom School of Business. We find (i) a clear gender difference in the timing of job offer acceptance, with women accepting jobs substantially earlier than men, and (ii) a sizable gender earnings gap in accepted offers, which narrows in favor of women over the course of the job search period. To understand these patterns, we develop a job search model that incorporates gender differences in risk aversion and overoptimism about prospective offers. We validate the model's assumptions and predictions using the survey data and present empirical evidence that the job search patterns in the field can be partly explained by the greater risk aversion displayed by women and the higher levels of overoptimism displayed by men. We replicate these findings in a laboratory experiment that features sequential job search and provide direct evidence on the purported mechanisms. Our findings highlight the importance of risk preferences and beliefs for gender differences in job-finding behavior and, consequently, early-career wage gaps among the highly educated.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85169886472&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/db3a7fd3-945c-3847-bdd3-91b3288ca4fb/
U2 - 10.1093/qje/qjad017
DO - 10.1093/qje/qjad017
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85169886472
SN - 0033-5533
VL - 138
SP - 2069
EP - 2126
JO - Quarterly Journal of Economics
JF - Quarterly Journal of Economics
IS - 4
ER -