On the nature of nurture.: The malleability of gender differences in work preferences

Miriam Beblo; Luise Görges

doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2018.05.002

On the nature of nurture. The malleability of gender differences in work preferences

Miriam Beblo
, Luise Görges^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

University of Hamburg

Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review

44 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We study the malleability of gender-specific preferences for work by exploiting the German division and reunification as a natural experiment. We test whether the two political systems have shaped gender gaps in preferences differentially, based on German-General-Social-Survey data from 1991, 1998 and 2012, an extensive set of register data and historical data from the 19th and early 20th century. Our analyses reveal a substantial East-West difference in the gender gap directly after reunification and no convergence thereafter. A cohort analysis illuminates the mechanism, as the effect is driven by cohorts who grew up during separation, and suggests that institutions, not cultural legacy, are the decisive component.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Volume	151
Pages (from-to)	19-41
Number of pages	23
ISSN	0167-2681
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.05.002
Publication status	Published - 01.07.2018
Externally published	Yes

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5 Gender Equality

Research areas and keywords

Economics
Cohort analysis
Work preferences
Gender and Diversity
Gender differences
German separation and reunification
Natural experiment

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Economics and Econometrics
Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jebo.2018.05.002

Cite this

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title = "On the nature of nurture.: The malleability of gender differences in work preferences",

abstract = "We study the malleability of gender-specific preferences for work by exploiting the German division and reunification as a natural experiment. We test whether the two political systems have shaped gender gaps in preferences differentially, based on German-General-Social-Survey data from 1991, 1998 and 2012, an extensive set of register data and historical data from the 19th and early 20th century. Our analyses reveal a substantial East-West difference in the gender gap directly after reunification and no convergence thereafter. A cohort analysis illuminates the mechanism, as the effect is driven by cohorts who grew up during separation, and suggests that institutions, not cultural legacy, are the decisive component.",

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AU - Görges, Luise

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N2 - We study the malleability of gender-specific preferences for work by exploiting the German division and reunification as a natural experiment. We test whether the two political systems have shaped gender gaps in preferences differentially, based on German-General-Social-Survey data from 1991, 1998 and 2012, an extensive set of register data and historical data from the 19th and early 20th century. Our analyses reveal a substantial East-West difference in the gender gap directly after reunification and no convergence thereafter. A cohort analysis illuminates the mechanism, as the effect is driven by cohorts who grew up during separation, and suggests that institutions, not cultural legacy, are the decisive component.

AB - We study the malleability of gender-specific preferences for work by exploiting the German division and reunification as a natural experiment. We test whether the two political systems have shaped gender gaps in preferences differentially, based on German-General-Social-Survey data from 1991, 1998 and 2012, an extensive set of register data and historical data from the 19th and early 20th century. Our analyses reveal a substantial East-West difference in the gender gap directly after reunification and no convergence thereafter. A cohort analysis illuminates the mechanism, as the effect is driven by cohorts who grew up during separation, and suggests that institutions, not cultural legacy, are the decisive component.

KW - Economics

KW - Cohort analysis

KW - Work preferences

KW - Gender and Diversity

KW - Gender differences

KW - German separation and reunification

KW - Natural experiment

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DO - 10.1016/j.jebo.2018.05.002

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SP - 19

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JO - Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization

JF - Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization

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