THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER ON THE PROVISION OF A PUBLIC GOOD

Previous researchers have obtained contradictory results concerning th e influence of gender on behavior in the experimental setting. One stu dy finds women significantly less cooperative than men (Rapoport and C hammah 1965), while another study finds women and men equally cooperat ive, after frequent repetitions of a game (Mason, Phillips and Redingt on 1991). We examine the influence of gender on public good provision in a four-person game using all-female, all-male and mixed gender grou ps of undergraduates. We find some evidence that all-female groups are more cooperative than either all-male or mixed gender groups.