Second-order statistical discrimination

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Klumpp, Tilman; Su, Xuejuan
• 署名单位: University of Alberta
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2012.09.004
• 发表日期: 2013
• 页码: 108-116
• 关键词: statistical discrimination; Aptitude distribution; Gender differences; Glass ceilings

摘要

The low representation of female workers in elite jobs is sometimes attributed to a tail effect: If the human capital distribution exhibits less variation among females than among males, then even with comparable average human capital there will be fewer females in the right tail than males. This paper offers an explanation for why the human capital distribution might have this property. We show that the belief that the female human capital distribution has a lower variance than the male distribution can be self-fulfilling, in that it provides individuals with incentives to invest in human capital such that the resulting distribution exhibits exactly this characteristic. If this happens, fewer females are employed in high-end jobs (a glass ceiling effect). The average productivity of female workers may at the same time be higher than that of male workers. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.