The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture
American Economic Review
vol. 106,
no. 5, May 2016
(pp. 257-61)
Abstract
This paper investigates the effect of gender-related culture on the math gender gap by analysing math test scores of second-generation immigrants, who are all exposed to a common set of host country laws and institutions. We find that immigrant girls whose parents come from more gender-equal countries perform better (relative to similar boys) than immigrant girls whose parents come from less gender-equal countries, suggesting an important role of cultural beliefs on the role of women in society on the math gender gap. The transmission of cultural beliefs accounts for at least two thirds of the overall contribution of gender-related factors.Citation
Nollenberger, Natalia, Núria Rodríguez-Planas, and Almudena Sevilla. 2016. "The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture." American Economic Review, 106 (5): 257-61. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20161121Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I20 Education and Research Institutions: General
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification