Gender Imbalance across Subfields in Economics: When Does It Start?

We investigate the marked gender imbalance across subfields in economics and connect it with the relative scarcity of female students enrolling in economics. First, tracking authorship in the American Economic Association annual meetings, we find sharp gender imbalances across areas of research. Whe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of human capital 2021-09, Vol.15 (3), p.469-511
Main Authors: Beneito, Pilar, Boscá, José E., Ferri, Javier, García, Manu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Authorship
Economics
Gender
Gender differences
Imbalance
Scarcity
Tracking
Visibility
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Summary:We investigate the marked gender imbalance across subfields in economics and connect it with the relative scarcity of female students enrolling in economics. First, tracking authorship in the American Economic Association annual meetings, we find sharp gender imbalances across areas of research. When does this imbalance start? Using administrative data, we find gender differences in academic performance across subfields emerging as early as the undergraduate level. Finally, survey data reveal students’ gendered preferences that help explain our findings. These gender biases in terms of visibility, performance, and preferences across subfields provide a potentially relevant explanation for the overall gender imbalance in economics.
ISSN:1932-8575
1932-8664
DOI:10.1086/715581