The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture
Natalia Nollenberger, Núria Rodríguez-Planas, Almudena Sevilla
American Economic Review · 2016 · Volume 106 · Issue 5
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.
Keywords
Education and Research Institutions: General, Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants, Non-labor Discrimination, Economics of Gender, Economic Sociology, Economic Anthropology, Language, Social and Economic Stratification
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