Group Average
Replicating and Extending Effects of "Achievement Gap" Discourse
David Quinn & Tara-Marie Desruisseaux
Educational Researcher, forthcoming
Abstract:
Scholars argue that the "racial achievement gap" frame perpetuates deficit mindsets. Previously, we found that teachers gave lower priority to racial equity when disparities were framed as "achievement gaps" (AGs) versus "inequality in educational outcomes." In this brief, we analyze data from two survey experiments using a teacher sample and an Amazon MTurk sample. We find that (a) the effect of AG language on equity prioritization is moderated by implicit bias, with larger negative effects among teachers holding stronger anti-Black/pro-White stereotypes; (b) the negative effect of AG language replicates with non-teachers; and (c) AG language causes respondents to express more negative racial stereotypes.
The diffusion of federal Title IX complaints throughout U.S. colleges and universities, 1994-2014
Celene Reynolds
Social Science Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
This article uses an original dataset of federal Title IX complaints to assess whether and how mobilization of the law to confront sexual harassment has diffused throughout four-year (and above) nonprofit colleges and universities. Event history analyses show that complaints spread more rapidly among schools of similar selectivity as well as among institutions linked by a new indicator for social proximity -- school Twitter ties -- that encompasses multiple forms of social proximity simultaneously. The same diffusion patterns do not emerge for other types of sex discrimination complaints filed under Title IX, indicating that networks channel the capacity to mobilize law differently across different types of claims. The findings illuminate a dramatic transformation in the deployment of Title IX that has reshaped how colleges and universities govern gender relations.
Misunderstanding Law: Undergraduates' Analysis of Campus Title IX Policies
Kat Albrecht, Laura Beth Nielsen & Lydia Wuorinen
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, forthcoming
Abstract:
Colleges and universities are legally required to attempt to prevent and redress sexual violations on campus. Neo-institutional theory suggests that the implementation of law by compliance professionals rarely achieves law's goals. It is critical in claims-based systems that those who are potential claimants understand the law. This article demonstrates that (a) intended subjects of the law (colleges and universities) interpret and frame the law in very similar ways; (b) resultant policies are complex and difficult to navigate; and (c) university undergraduates in an experimental setting are not able to comprehend the Title IX policies designed to protect them. These findings suggest that current implementations of Title IX policies leave them structurally ineffective to combat sexual assaults on campus.
The intergenerational sources of the U-turn in gender segregation
Ling Zhu & David Grusky
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 9 August 2022
Abstract:
In the early 1970s, the balkanization of the US labor market into "men's occupations" and "women's occupations" began to unravel, as women entered the professions and other male-typed sectors in record numbers. This decline in gender segregation continued on for several decades but then suddenly stalled at the turn of the century and shows no signs of resuming. Although the stall is itself undisputed, its sources remain unclear. Using nearly a half-century of data from the General Social Survey, we show that a resurgence in segregation-inducing forms of intergenerational transmission stands behind the recent stall. Far from serving as impartial conduits, fathers are now disproportionately conveying male-typed occupations to their sons, whereas mothers are effectively gender-neutral in their transmission outcomes. This segregative turn among fathers accounts for 47% of the stall in the gender segregation trend (between 2000 and 2018), while the earlier integrative turn among fathers accounts for 34% of the initial downturn in segregation (between 1972 and 1999). It follows that a U-turn in intergenerational processes lies behind the U-turn in gender segregation.
Parental Investments in Early Childhood and the Gender Gap in Math and Literacy
Amanda Chuan et al.
AEA Papers and Proceedings, May 2022, Pages 603-608
Abstract:
Parental investments shape children's educational specializations. Using a longitudinal study, we find that parents invest more in daughters than sons at ages three through five. We find that early parental investment can explain persistently higher English scores for girls than boys four to six years later. However, there is no gender gap in math. Parental investments at ages three through five appear to contribute to girls' advantage in English but have little impact on math. Our results suggest that parental investments at early ages contributes to girls' comparative advantage in English.
Diversity, Information Choice, and Market Efficiency
Vidhi Chhaochharia, Alok Kumar & Shiyi Zhang
University of Miami Working Paper, July 2022
Abstract:
This study examines whether diversity among market participants is associated with diverse information environments and better aggregation of information. Using measures of diversity among sell-side equity analysts, we demonstrate that although minority analyst forecasts are less accurate, their forecasts are more consistent and they employ richer information sets. At the aggregate-level, earnings are more predictable when the consensus is based on a larger proportion of minority forecasts. Predictive ability of minority analysts is stronger when corporate boards are more diverse and market uncertainty is high. Further, stock market reaction following earnings announcement is stronger when the consensus uses inputs from more diverse analysts. Collectively, these results suggest that greater diversity among market participants is associated with better information environments and more efficient stock prices.
Racial Pay Gap in Influencer Marketing
Amy Pei et al.
Northeastern University Working Paper, July 2022
Abstract:
Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd's murder have put pressure on firms to communicate their support for the cause by increasing racial diversity in hiring and brand communications. Using a novel data set, we examine changes in the racial pay gap in influencer marketing campaigns conducted before and after George Floyd's murder. We find that Black macro-influencers have started receiving substantially higher payments per post than their White counterparts with similar characteristics. However, no such boost materialized for Black micro-influencers, indicating a visibility premium associated with hiring Black macro-influencers in the aftermath of Black Lives Matter protests. We examine and reject several alternative explanations for our results. These findings on the connection between job visibility and the racial pay gap in influencer marketing have important practical implications for influencers, managers, and regulators.
Does Racial Diversity Improve Academic Outcomes? A Natural Experiment in Higher Education Classrooms
Yan Lau
Federal Trade Commission Working Paper, October 2021
Abstract:
This paper estimates the causal effect of racial diversity on academic outcomes in a higher education classroom setting. I exploit a natural experiment where first-year college students in a mandatory writing course are assigned to discussion conferences with varying racial compositions. Within-classroom diversity is effectively random conditional on scheduling availability. I find that a higher degree of classroom diversity increases GPA at graduation, improves first year grades of female students, and affects the major choice of white students. I develop a trimming procedure to bound estimates and account for selection into the sample of completers. My results highlight the potential value of racial diversity in higher education and contribute to the debate over race-based admissions policies.
Gender Bias and Central Bank Communication: Do Americans Trust Female Policy Makers?
Cristina Bodea & Andrew Kerner
Michigan State University Working Paper, August 2022
Abstract:
Modern economic policymaking requires effective communication. In particular, central bankers communicate facts about the economy and aim to shape individuals' expectations about the economic future and the central bank's capacity to manage it. To do so effectively, central bankers must project expertise and, often, anti-inflation zeal. However, those forms of credibility are often male-coded, and ceterus paribus may disfavor female central bankers in that role. This paper considers the actual extent of that bias. We use a novel experimental design to ask: Does femaleness undermine central bankers' effectiveness as communicators? We answer: Yes. Americans (especially men) responded much better to male than female communicators. Male respondents presented with female-attributed messaging were less optimistic about the economic future, less trusting of the Federal Reserve, less convinced of others' trust in the Federal Reserve, and, at least when we presented the female banker without credentials, more concerned about inflation. While female bankers were more able to alleviate unemployment concerns, this silver lining speaks to a broader pathology whereby women are assumed dovish. These notable findings help explain women's absence from public-facing central bank positions.
Racial disparities in the screening of candidates for software engineering internships
Santiago Campero
Social Science Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Internships are a common way for firms to hire college-educated workers, prompting concerns about how internship hiring affects various forms of inequality in the transition from school to work. Some of these concerns center on whether internships might be less accessible for workers from non-white racial groups. In this paper, I examine racial disparities in internship hiring and argue that, relative to full-time hiring, in internship hiring firms have less information about candidates' qualifications and are also less motivated to screen candidates intensely. Therefore, group-based status beliefs play a larger role in the screening of intern candidates than in the screening of full-time candidates, leading to larger disadvantages for low-status workers (i.e., non-white workers). I examine these claims using data from a Silicon Valley software firm recruiting for both software engineering internships and entry-level software engineering positions. I find evidence consistent with such "cursory screening" of intern candidates leading to non-white (i.e., Asian, Hispanic, Black) job candidates being more strongly disadvantaged relative to white candidates in competing for internships as compared with full-time positions.
Qualitative information in undergraduate admissions: A pilot study of letters of recommendation
Jesse Rothstein
Economics of Education Review, August 2022
Abstract:
A subset of undergraduate applicants to the University of California, Berkeley were invited to submit letters of recommendation as part of their applications. I use scraped text of the submitted letters, natural language processing tools, and a within-subject experimental design wherein applications were read in parallel with and without their letters to understand the role that this qualitative information plays in admissions. I show that letters written on behalf of underrepresented applicants were modestly distinctive. I also construct an index of letter strength, measuring the predicted impact of the letter on the student's application score. I show that underrepresented applicants tend to get weaker letters, but that readers pay less attention to letter strength for underrepresented students. Overall, the inclusion of letters modestly improved application outcomes for the average underrepresented student.
Reject or Revise: Gender Differences in Persistence and Publishing in Economics
Gauri Kartini Shastry & Olga Shurchkov
Wellesley Working Paper, July 2022
Abstract:
We design an experiment to study gender differences in reactions to editorial decisions on submissions to top economics journals. Respondents read a hypothetical editor's letter where the decision (e.g., revise and resubmit) is randomized across participants. Relative to an R&R, female assistant professors who receive a rejection perceive a significantly lower likelihood of subsequently publishing the paper in any leading journal than comparable male assistant professors. We do not find this gender difference among tenured professors. We consider several mechanisms, pointing to gender differences in attribution of negative feedback to ability and confidence under time constraints as likely explanations.