Research project Reducing the Gender Pay Gap by Nudging Negotiations: Identifying Causal Mechanisms and Intervention

Gender differences in negotiation behavior are within both the economics and social psychology literatures suggested as one explanation for a persistent gender gap in labor market outcomes, especially for gender gaps at the top of the wage distribution. Simultaneously, negotiations are vital elements of the labor market and of increasing importance considering larger degrees of decentralized wage-setting. Both research fields also document gender gaps in negotiation behavior with females requesting less compared to similar males in a negotiation. Nevertheless, there is a lack of causal evidence for why these gender gaps arise, and, consequentially, a lack of knowledge on how to counteract them. 

First, we will use data from a new salary-negotiation experiment. Second, we will specifically design a set of survey questions that target negotiation behavior for a large-sample survey on individual salary negotiations in 2017. Subsequently, building on our experimental and survey findings, we will design and execute a field experiment consisting of “nudges” (a push aimed at changing behavior in a wanted direction) that aim to help closing the gender gap. Besides providing vital insights to the academic field, the project may significantly contribute to the area of policy-making.