Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/161007 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10384
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
In speedboat racing in Japan, women racers participate and compete in races under the same conditions as men, and all individuals are randomly assigned to mixed-gender or single-gender groups for each race. In this paper we use a sample of over 140,000 observations of individual-level racing records provided by the Japanese Speedboat Racing Association to examine how male-dominated circumstances affect women's racing performance. We control for individual fixed-effects plus a host of other factors affecting performance (such as starting lane, fitness and weather conditions). Our estimates reveal that women's race-time is slower in mixed-gender races than in all-women races, whereas men racer's time is faster in mixed-gender races than men-only races. In mixed-gender races, male racers are found to be more 'aggressive' – as proxied by lane-changing – in spite of the risk of being penalized if they contravene the rules, whereas women follow less aggressive strategies. We find no difference in disqualifications between genders. We suggest that gender-differences in risk-attitudes and over-confidence may result in different responses to the competitive environment and penalties for rule-breaking, and that gender-identity also plays a role.
Subjects: 
peer effects
gender and competition
tournaments
women's labor participation
gender identity
JEL: 
J16
L83
M5
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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