Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282704 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 16577
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Women report setting lower reservation wages than men in survey data. We show that women set reservation wages that are 14 to 18 percent lower than men's in laboratory search experiments that control for factors not fully observed in surveys such as offer distributions and outside options. This gender gap—which exists even controlling for overconfidence, preferences, personality, and intelligence—leads women to spend less time searching than men while accepting lower wages. Women—but not men—set reservation wages that are too low relative to theoretically optimal values given their risk preferences early in search, reducing their earnings.
Subjects: 
reservation wages
gender wage gaps
search experiments
JEL: 
J16
J64
C91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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