Game, Set, and Match: Do Women and Men Perform Differently in Competitive Situations?

29 Pages Posted: 27 Mar 2015 Last revised: 14 Apr 2015

See all articles by Michael Jetter

Michael Jetter

University of Western Australia; IZA

Jay K. Walker

Old Dominion University - Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 16, 2015

Abstract

This paper analyzes potential gender differences in competitive environments using a sample of over 100,000 professional tennis matches. Focusing on two phenomena of the labor and sports economics literature, we find robust evidence for (i) the hot-hand effect (an additional win in the most recent ten matches raises the likelihood of winning by 3.1 to 3.3 percent) and (ii) the clutch-player effect, as top players are excelling in Grand Slam tournaments, the most important events. Overall, we find virtually no gender differences for the hot-hand effect and only minor distinctions for the clutch-player effect.

Keywords: gender gap, competition, hot hand, clutch player, tennis

JEL Classification: J24, L83, D84

Suggested Citation

Jetter, Michael and Walker, Jay K., Game, Set, and Match: Do Women and Men Perform Differently in Competitive Situations? (March 16, 2015). Center for Research in Economics and Finance (CIEF), Working Paper No. 15-09, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2585324 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2585324

Michael Jetter (Contact Author)

University of Western Australia ( email )

35 Stirling Highway
Crawley, Western Australia 6009
AUSTRALIA

Jay K. Walker

Old Dominion University - Economics ( email )

Norfolk, VA 23529
United States

HOME PAGE: http://jaykody.wixsite.com/mysite

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