Hostname: page-component-7b9c58cd5d-9klzr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-16T13:01:45.474Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Gender pairing and bargaining—Beware the same sex!

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Matthias Sutter*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Finance, University of Innsbruck, Universitaetsstr. 15/4, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Box 640, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden
Ronald Bosman*
Affiliation:
Financial Stability Division, De Nederlandsche Bank, Westeinde 1, 1017 ZN Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Martin G. Kocher*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Finance, University of Innsbruck, Universitaetsstr. 15/4, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria Department of Economics, University of Munich, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 Munich, Germany
Frans van Winden*
Affiliation:
CREED/Department of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Roetersstraat 11, 1018 WB Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract

We study the influence of gender and gender pairing on economic decision making in an experimental two-person bargaining game where the other party's gender is known to both actors. We find that (1) gender per se has no significant effect on behavior, whereas (2) gender pairing systematically affects behavior. In particular, we observe much more competition and retaliation and, thus, lower efficiency when the bargaining partners have the same gender than when they have the opposite gender. These findings are consistent with predictions from evolutionary psychology. Implications of our results for real-world organizations are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Economic Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10683-009-9217-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

References

Andreoni, J., & Vesterlund, L. (2001). Which is the fair sex? Gender differences in altruism. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 293312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayres, I. (1991). Fair driving: Gender and race discrimination in retail car negotiations. Harvard Law Review, 104, 817872.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayres, I., & Siegelman, P. (1995). Race and gender discrimination in bargaining for a new car. American Economic Review, 85, 304321.Google Scholar
Ben-Ner, A., Kong, F., & Putterman, L. (2004). Share and share alike? Intelligence, socialization, personality, and gender-pairing as determinants of giving. Journal of Economic Psychology, 25, 581589.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bolton, G., & Katok, I. (1995). An experimental test for gender differences in beneficent behavior. Economics Letters, 48, 287292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bosman, R., Sutter, M., & van Winden, F. (2005). On the role of emotions and real effort in a power-to-take game: Experimental studies. Journal of Economic Psychology, 26, 407429.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bosman, R., & van Winden, F. (2002). Emotional hazard in a power-to-take experiment. Economic Journal, 112, 147169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowles, H.R., & McGinn, K. L. (2002). When does gender matter in negotiation? John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Working Paper RWP02-036.Google Scholar
Bowles, H. R., Babcock, L., & McGinn, K. L. (2005). Constraints and triggers: Situational mechanics of gender in negotiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 951965.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buss, D. M. (1999). Evolutionary psychology. The new science of the mind. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Camerer, C. F. (2003). Behavioral game theory. Experiments in strategic interaction. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Camerer, C., & Hogarth, R. M. (1999). The effects of financial incentives in experiments: A review and capital-labor-production framework. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 19, 742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carpenter, J., Verhoogen, E., & Burks, S. (2005). The effects of stakes in distribution experiments. Economics Letters, 86, 393398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Craver, C., & Barnes, D. (1999). Gender, risk taking, and negotiation performance. Michigan Journal on Gender and Law, 5, 299352.Google Scholar
Croson, R., & Buchan, N. (1999). Gender and culture: International experimental evidence from trust games. American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 89, 386391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croson, R., & Gneezy, U. (2009, forthcoming). Gender differences in preferences. Journal of Economic Literature.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dufwenberg, M., & Muren, A. (2006). Gender composition in teams. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 61, 5054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, C. C., & Grossman, P. J. (1998). Are women less selfish than men? Evidence from dictator experiments. Economic Journal, 108, 726735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, C. C., & Grossman, P. J. (2001). Chivalry and solidarity in ultimatum games. Economic Inquiry, 39, 171188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckel, C. C., & Grossman, P. J. (2008). Differences in the economic decision making of men and women: Experimental evidence. In Plott, C. & Smith, V. L. (Eds.), Handbook of experimental economics results (Vol. 1, pp. 509519). Amsterdam: North Holland.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fehr, E., Fischbacher, U., von Rosenbladt, B., Schupp, J., & Wagner, G. G. (2003). A nationwide laboratory. Examining trust and trustworthiness by integrating behavioral experiments into representative surveys. Institute for Empirical Research in Economics. Working Paper 141. University of Zurich.Google Scholar
Fehr, E., Naef, M., & Schmidt, K. (2006). The role of equality, efficiency, and Rawlsian motives in social preferences: A reply to Engelmann and Strobel. American Economic Review, 96, 19121917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischbacher, U. (2007). z-Tree: Zurich toolbox for readymade economic experiments. Experimental Economics, 10, 171178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frey, B., & Bohnet, I. (1995). Institutions affect fairness: Experimental investigations. Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 151, 286303.Google Scholar
Frey, B., & Bohnet, I. (1999a). Social distance and other-regarding behavior in dictator games: Comment. American Economic Review, 89, 335339.Google Scholar
Frey, B., & Bohnet, I. (1999b). The sound of silence in prisoner's dilemma and dictator games. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 38, 4357.Google Scholar
Ginther, D. K., & Kahn, S. (2004). Women in economics: Moving up or falling off the academic career ladder? Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18, 193214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ginther, D. K., & Hayes, K. J. (2003). Gender differences in salary and promotion for faculty in the humanities. Journal of Human Resources, 38, 3473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gneezy, U., Niederle, M., & Rustichini, A. (2003). Performance in competitive environments: Gender differences. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 118, 10491074.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gneezy, U., Leonard, K. L., & List, J. A. (2009, forthcoming). Gender differences in competition. Evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. Econometrica.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grether, D. M. (1992). Testing Bayes rule and the representative heuristic: Some experimental results. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 17, 623638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, N. D., Poulsen, A., & Villeval, M. (2005). Do (wo)men prefer (non-)competitive jobs? GATE Working Paper No. 05-12 and IZA Discussion Paper No. 1833.Google Scholar
Holm, H. J. (2000). Gender-based focal points. Games and Economic Behavior, 32, 292314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loewenstein, G. (2000). Emotions in economic theory and economic behavior. American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings, 90, 426432.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niederle, M., Segal, C., & Vesterlund, L. (2008). How costly is diversity? Affirmative action in light of gender differences in competitiveness. Working Paper.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niederle, M., & Vesterlund, L. (2007). Do women shy away from competition? Do men compete too much?. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122, 10671101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robertson, R. E. (2001). Women in management: Analysis of selected data from the current population survey. Report to Congressional Requesters No. GAO Report 02-156. U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Schweitzer, M., & Solnick, S. (1999). The influence of physical attractiveness and gender on ultimatum game decisions. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 79, 199215.Google Scholar
Sokoloff, N. J. (1992). Black women and white women in the professions: Occupational segregation by race and gender, 1960-1980. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Solnick, S. J. (2001). Gender differences in the ultimatum game. Economic Inquiry, 39, 189200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stuhlmacher, A. F., & Walters, A. E. (1999). Gender differences in negotiation outcome: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 52, 653677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutter, M., & Kocher, M. G. (2007). Trust and trustworthiness across different age groups. Games and Economic Behavior, 59, 364382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trivers, R. L. (1972). Parental investment and sexual selection. In Campbell, B. (Ed.), Sexual Selection and the Descent of Man: 1871-1971 (pp. 136179). Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Walters, A. E., Stuhlmacher, A. F., & Meyer, L. L. (1998). Gender and negotiator competitiveness: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 76, 129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, C. (1994). Gender versus power as a predictor of negotiation behavior and outcomes. Negotiation Journal, 10, 117127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Sutter et al. supplementary material

A1 and A2
Download Sutter et al. supplementary material(File)
File 119.8 KB