Gender and Cooperation: Explaining Loan Repayment in Micro-Credit Groups

Abstract

Does gender affect cooperation? In this paper we analyze the effects of gender and group gender composition on prosocial behavior. We make two competing predictions: one based on literature suggesting that women are more cooperative than men, the other building on research regarding the effect of expectations on behavior. Using data drawn from micro-credit borrowing groups, we find that gender composition, not gender per se, is correlated with the likelihood that individuals will default on loan payments. The findings suggest that behavior which might appear to be a consequence of inherent gender differences more likely results from expectations associated with group gender composition. Are women more cooperative than men? Observation suggests that they may be. At a minimum, people expect to see differences, but the evidence is decidedly mixed. Some studies find that women cooperate more than men; others find that they cooperate less. Still other research suggests that it is not gender itself that affects behavior; rather, the composition of groups accounts for differences in cooperation levels. In the present study we provide new data regarding this issue, with a focus on cooperation in micro-credit borrowing groups. We distinguish between gender and the gender composition of these groups to evaluate their effects on one kind of cooperative behavior, the repayment of loans.