Invites you to a

Microeconometrics & Public Policy seminar presented by

Lusine Ivanov-Davtyan

(Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education – Economics Institute)

The Evolution of the Gender Aspiration Gap:
Evidence from 50 Years of Alpine Skiing

Friday, 12 May 2023

12.00pm – 1.00pm 

Level 6 Seminar Room (650) A02 Social Sciences Building Camperdown Campus
The University of Sydney NSW 2006

In this study, I investigate the evolution of the gender aspiration gap measured as risk-behavior, willingness to succeed and performance over a time span of 50 years. The analysis focuses on individual competitive behavior once a person has learnt about its own potential to be successful. To do so, I link the surprise success of a certain athlete to the competitive responses of his or her peers using alpine skiing data from 1967 to 2022. Alpine skiing has some particular features that make analysis insightful: Ski competition takes place for more than 50 years in almost the same format, athletes compete in all subsequent races within a discipline, the gender pay gap is small and detailed race and within-race data on risk behavior and performance are available. The combination of hazard estimation techniques and the comparison by gender over time is novel and may lead to cutting-edge insights of peer-group and network effects to understand risk-taking behavior and performance. Initial results suggest that men tend to be more reactive to the success of their peers, while women tend to maintain their risk behavior and performance levels. The findings can be transferred to real economic situations in competitive environments such as risky financial investments and shed light on gender differences on which policy makers and compliance managers should account for.

For further information contact: Microeconometrics & Public Policy Seminar Coordinator
Dr Gregor Pfeifer (gregor-gabriel.pfeifer@sydney.edu.au)

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