Do gender stereotypes reduce girls' or boys' human capital outcomes? Evidence from a natural experiment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Lavy, Victor
• 署名单位: Hebrew University of Jerusalem; University of London; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2008.02.009
• 发表日期: 2008
• 页码: 2083-2105
• 关键词: gender stereotypes; DISCRIMINATION; natural experiment

摘要

Schools and teachers are often said to be a source of stereotypes that harm girls. This paper tests for the existence of gender stereotyping and discrimination by public high-school teachers in Israel. It uses a natural experiment based on blind and non-blind scores that students receive on matriculation exams in their senior year. Using data on test results in several subjects in the humanities and sciences, I found, contrary to expectations, that male students face discrimination in each subject. These biases widen the female-male achievement difference because girls outperform boys in all subjects, except English, and at all levels of the curriculum. The bias is evident in all segments of the ability and performance distribution and is robust to various individual controls. Several explanations based on differential behavior between boys and girls are not supported empirically. However, the size of the difference is very sensitive to teachers' characteristics, suggesting that the bias against male students is the result of teachers', and not students', behavior. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.