Born in the Family: Preferences for Boys and the Gender Gap in Math

Arbeitspapier

We study the correlation between parental gender attitudes and the performance in mathematics of girls using two different approaches and data. First, we identify families with a preference for boys by using fertility stopping rules in a population of households whose children attend public schools in Florida. Girls growing up in a boy-biased family score 3 percentage points lower on math tests when compared to girls raised in other families. Second, we find similar strong effects when we study the correlations between girls' performance in mathematics and maternal gender role attitudes, using evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We conclude that socialization at home can explain a non-trivial part of the observed gender disparities in mathematics performance and document that maternal gender attitudes correlate with those of their children, supporting the hypothesis that preferences transmitted through the family impact children behavior.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 12156

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Relation of Economics to Social Values ; Education and Research Institutions: General ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
• Thema: gender Differences ; cultural transmission ; math performance

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Dossi, Gaia ; Figlio, David N. ; Giuliano, Paola ; Sapienza, Paola
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
• (wo): Bonn
• (wann): 2019

Weitere Informationen

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/196654
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ