Gender, Culture, and Corruption: Insights from an Experimental Analysis

Abstract:     
In recent years, a substantial body of work has explored the differences in the behavior of men and women in a variety of economic transactions. We contribute to this literature by investigating gender differences in behavior when confronted with a common bribery problem. Our study departs from the previous literature on gender and corruption by using economic experiments. Based on data collected in Australia (Melbourne), India (Delhi), Indonesia (Jakarta) and Singapore, we show that while women in Australia are less tolerant of corruption than men in Australia, there are no significant gender differences in the propensities to engage in and punish corrupt behavior in India, Indonesia and Singapore. Hence, our findings suggest that the gender differences reported in the previous studies may not be nearly as universal as stated and may be more culture-specific. We also explore behavioral differences by gender across countries and find that there are larger variations in women's behavior towards corruption than in men's across the countries in our sample.

Keywords: Gender, Corruption, Experiments, Punishment, Multicultural Analysis

JEL Classifications: C91, J16, K42, O12

Accepted Paper Series