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  4. Preliminary Program
  5. Gender, Minorities, and Discrimination
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Gender, Minorities, and Discrimination

Paper Session

Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM (EST)

Hosted By: Econometric Society
  • Chair: Ulrike Malmendier, University of California-Berkeley

Gender Roles and the Gender Expectations Gap

Francesco D'Acunto
,
Boston College
Ulrike Malmendier
,
University of California-Berkeley
Michael Weber
,
University of Chicago

Abstract

Expectations about economic variables vary systematically across genders. In the domain of inflation, women have persistently higher expectations than men. We argue that traditional gender roles are a significant factor in generating this gender expectations gap as they expose women and men to different economic signals in their daily lives. Using unique data on the participation of men and women in household grocery chores, their resulting exposure to price signals, and their inflation expectations, we document a tight link between the gender expectations gap and the distribution of grocery shopping duties. Since grocery prices are highly volatile, and consumers focus disproportionally on positive price changes, frequent exposure to grocery prices increases perceptions of current inflation and expectations of future inflation. The gender expectations gap is largest in households whose female heads are solely responsible for grocery shopping, whereas no gap arises in households that split grocery chores equally between men and women. Our results indicate that gender differences in inflation expectations arise due to social conditioning rather than through differences in innate abilities, skills, or preferences.

Corporate Gender Culture

Renee Adams
,
University of Oxford

Abstract

We apply computational linguistic models to Australian publicly listed firms’ reports to a gender-equality statutory agency to construct the first systematic measure of ‘corporate gender culture’—firms’ practices pertaining to the treatment of women across a range of dimensions, from recruitment and promotion to maternity leave and sexual harassment. We use a unique historical experiment that durably shaped gender norms in Australia to establish that corporate gender culture is shaped by local societal gender norms. Upon examining the impact of the introduction of government-funded parental leave in 2011, we observe that culture evolves slowly, but policy can shape gender diversity and corporate gender culture.

Does Policy Committee Diversity Affect Public Trust and Expectations?

Andreas Fuster
,
Swiss National Bank
Francesco D'Acunto
,
Boston College
Michael Weber
,
University of Chicago

Abstract

Increasing the diversity of policy committees has climbed to the top of the political agenda around the world, but the economic motivations and effects of diversity in policy committees are still elusive. In this paper, we use a randomized control trial within a large-scale survey to test for the effects of making consumers aware of the presence of underrepresented groups in the US Fed’s FOMC on the FOMC’s ability to manage consumers’ expectations. We find that White women and African American men update their unemployment expectations more in line with FOMC forecasts after being made aware of the presence of members of their demographic group in the FOMC. Consumers who face multiple facets of underrepresentation and whose demographic groups are not represented in the FOMC, such as African American women, are the most distrustful of the Fed and their macroeconomic expectations are the farthest away from FOMC forecasts. At the same time, overrepresented groups, such as White men, do not react negatively to awareness of minority representation in the FOMC. We also find evidence that women become more likely to read news articles about the Fed when a female policy maker is featured. Overall, our findings suggest that more diverse policy committee might improve the effectiveness of such committees in managing the expectations of underrepresented consumers without negative effects on other consumers.

Race and Redistribution

Alberto Alesina
,
Harvard University
Matteo Ferroni
,
Non-affiliated
Stefanie Stantcheva
,
Harvard University

Abstract

Using new survey and experimental data, we investigate how attitudes towards race and perceptions of the economic circumstances of minorities shape views on redistribution, affirmative action, reparations for slavery, and neighborhood-based policies. Oversampling African Americans we were able to have half of the sample made by African Americans respondents and the other half made by Whites, otherwise representative along the dimensions of income, age, and gender. Using this sample we elicited detailed perceptions about the incomes, poverty rates, mobility opportunities, and economic conditions of black and white people in the US. We later investigate how these perceptions, attitudes and policy preferences differ among the race and gender dimensions of the US population. Randomized information treatments were used to show respondents information about the differences in economic success of African Americans and Whites and we analyze how these affected perceptions and policy preferences of the respondents. Knowing the geographical location of the respondents, we also used this newly collected survey data to study the impact of fine-grained local factors such as racial segregation, income segregation, and local poverty on respondents' perceptions, views, and attitudes. We also conduct a simplified survey on very young people aged 13 to 18 to measure their perceptions and attitudes on race related topics. We focus on this age group since these teenage years are very impressionable years in which people form their views and this will help us to understand at what age certain attitudes already become well-established in people minds.
JEL Classifications
  • J7 - Labor Discrimination
  • D9 - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics