Margarita Machelett es Economista del Departamento de Análisis Estructural y Estudios Microeconómicos del Banco de España. Tiene un PhD en Economía por Brown University (USA) y cursó la Maestría en Economía en la UNLP. Sus investigaciones se centran en temas de economía experimental, discriminación, estudios de género y competencias financieras y han sido publicados en revistas académicas como Journal of Polítical Economy. Ha dictado cursos en Brown University y en la UNLP y ha sido consultora externa de la Fundación de Investigaciones Económicas Latinoamericanas (FIEL) y asistente de investigación del Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS-UNLP).

Abstract: Gender gaps in financial knowledge are pervasive and persistent. While most studies explore why women know less, these gaps might also reflect differential behavior in providing answers in surveys: When uncertain, men might be more likely to choose an answer, while women might opt for “I do not know”. We test for the effectiveness of three potential remedies to reduce the frequency of “I do not know” in surveys, carrying out a randomized-control-trial in an online survey administered to 6,000 participants. The standard survey, our control group, includes the possibility of answering “I do not know”. The three treatment arms either exclude the “I do not know” answer, offer incentives for correct answers or provide a nudge that informs survey takers of the exist- ing gender gap in choosing “I do not know”. All remedies are very effective in reducing the frequency of “I do not know”, and the informational nudge reduces significantly this gap. While offering incentives is mostly effective for men, the information nudge is mostly effective for women.

Autoras: Laura Hopido (Banco de España), Nagore Iriberri (Universidad del País Vasco) y Margarita Machelett (Banco de España)

Organizan: Departamento de Economía, Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Revista Económica

Contacto: iie@econo.unlp.edu.ar