Would Women Leaders Have Prevented the Global Financial Crisis? Implications for Teaching about Gender, Behavior, and Economics

INET Research Note #014 (Revision of Global Development and Environment Institute Working Paper No. 11-03)

35 Pages Posted: 19 Nov 2011 Last revised: 11 Oct 2012

See all articles by Julie A. Nelson

Julie A. Nelson

University of Massachusetts at Boston - Department of Economics; Tufts University - Global Development and Environment Institute

Date Written: September 14, 2012

Abstract

Would having more women in leadership have prevented the financial crisis? This question may arise in courses on Gender and Economics, Money and Financial Institutions, Pluralist Economics, or Behavioral Economics, and offers an important teaching moment. The first part of this essay argues that while some behavioral research seems to support an exaggerated "difference" view, non-simplistic behavioral research debunks this and instead reveals the immense unconscious power of stereotyping. The second part of this essay argues that the more urgently needed gender analysis of the financial industry is not concerned with (presumed) "differences" by sex, but rather with the role of gender biases in the social construction of markets. Specific examples and tools that can be used when teaching about difference, similarity, and markets are discussed throughout.

Keywords: feminist economics, financial crisis, risk aversion, risk, economics education, behavioral economics, stereotyping, gender, sex, finance, markets

JEL Classification: E44, A13

Suggested Citation

Nelson, Julie A., Would Women Leaders Have Prevented the Global Financial Crisis? Implications for Teaching about Gender, Behavior, and Economics (September 14, 2012). INET Research Note #014 (Revision of Global Development and Environment Institute Working Paper No. 11-03), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1961722 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1961722

Julie A. Nelson (Contact Author)

University of Massachusetts at Boston - Department of Economics ( email )

100 Morrissey Blvd.
Boston, MA 02125
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.umb.edu/academics/cla/dept/economics/faculty/facultyNelson.html

Tufts University - Global Development and Environment Institute ( email )

MA
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/about_us/researchers.html#nelson

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