Gender differences in response to big stakes

Azmat, Ghazala and Calsamiglia, Caterina and Iriberri, Nagore (2014) Gender differences in response to big stakes. CEP Discussion Papers, CEPDP1314. Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

In the psychology literature, “choking under pressure” refers to a behavioural response to an increase in the stakes. In a natural experiment, we study the gender difference in performance resulting from changes in stakes. We use detailed information on the performance of high-school students and exploit the variation in the stakes of tests, which range from 5% to 27% of the final grade. We find that female students outperform male students relatively more when the stakes are low. The gender gap disappears in tests taken at the end of high school, which count for 50% of the university entry grade.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://cep.lse.ac.uk/_new/publications/series.asp?...
Additional Information:	© 2014 The Authors
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Sets:	Research centres and groups > Centre for Economic Performance (CEP)
Series:	Working Papers > CEP Discussion Papers
Date Deposited:	06 Jan 2015 10:44
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2015 10:44
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/60607

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