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Gender Differences in Shirking: Monitoring or Social Preferences? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Author

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  • Johansson, Per

    (Uppsala University)

  • Karimi, Arizo

    (Uppsala University)

  • Nilsson, Peter

    (IIES, Stockholm University)

Abstract

This paper studies gender differences in the extent to which social preferences affect workers' shirking decisions. Using exogenous variation in work absence induced by a randomized field experiment that increased treated workers' absence, we find that also non-treated workers increased their absence as a response. Furthermore, we find that male workers react more strongly to decreased monitoring, but no significant gender difference in the extent to which workers are influenced by peers. However, our results suggest significant heterogeneity in the degree of influence that male and female workers exert on each other: conditional on the potential exposure to same-sex co-workers, men are only affected by their male peers, and women are only affected by their female peers.

Suggested Citation

  • Johansson, Per & Karimi, Arizo & Nilsson, Peter, 2014. "Gender Differences in Shirking: Monitoring or Social Preferences? Evidence from a Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 8133, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8133
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    Cited by:

    1. Katarzyna Bech & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2017. "Estimating gender wage gap in the presence of efficiency wages -- evidence from European data," GRAPE Working Papers 20, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    2. Karlsson, Maria & Lundin, Mathias, 2016. "On statistical methods for labor market evaluation under interference between units," Working Paper Series 2016:24, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    3. Thomas Leoni & René Böheim, 2018. "Fehlzeitenreport 2018. Krankheits- und unfallbedingte Fehlzeiten in Österreich – Präsentismus und Absentismus," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61487.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    peer effects; employer-employee data; social preferences; randomized field experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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