Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/193230 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11936
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This paper explores the contribution of biological factors in explaining gender differences in educational performance, with a particular focus on the role of prenatal testosterone. We exploit the fact that prenatal testosterone is hypothesized to transfer in-utero from a male twin to his twin sibling causing exogenous variation in exposure to prenatal testosterone in twins. By using Dutch administrative data and controlling for potential socialization effects, we find that girls with a twin brother score 7% of a standard deviation lower on math compared to girls with a twin sister. Adherence to traditional gender norms can explain this finding, implying that our results are not just driven by biology but materialize depending on environmental factors.
Subjects: 
gender performance gap
twins
prenatals tesosterone
JEL: 
I20
J16
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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