The influence of gender on the provision of a public good

Abstract

Previous researchers have obtained contradictory results concerning the influence of gender on behavior in the experimental setting. One study finds women significantly less cooperative than men (Rapoport and Chammah 1965), while another study finds women and men equally cooperative, after frequent repetitions of a game (Mason, Phillips and Redington 1991). We examine the influence of gender on public good provision in a four-person game using all-female, all-male and mixed gender groups of undergraduates. We find some evidence that all-female groups are more cooperative than either all-male or mixed gender groups.