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| RESPONSE TO COMPETITION: GENDER, DOMAINS, AND STEAM CHOICE |
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| ABSTRACT Women’s lower performance in competitive environments has been advanced as an explanation for gender inequalities in the labor market. Using broadly representative
Chinese administrative data, and measuring response to competition (RC) by performance changes from a mock exam to the competitive High School Entrance Exam, we document higher RC for boys in STEM and for girls in non-STEM subjects, with the pattern weakened by exposure to high ability classmates in gender-incongruent domains. Both domain-specific RC measures significantly predict subsequent STEM track choice, accounting for 26% of the adjusted gender gap in STEM specialization, a known precursor to the gender pay gap. |
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PRESENTER Y.Jane Zhang
University of New South Wales |
RESEARCH FIELDS Political Economy
Gender
Experimental Economics |
DATE: 24 September 2026 (Thursday) |
VENUE: Meeting Room 5.1, Level 5
School of Economics
Singapore Management University
90 Stamford Road
Singapore 178903 |
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