Gender differences in quality of life and preferences for location‐specific amenities across cities

Abstract

AbstractThe quality of life literature revealed the role that natural resources and local consumption amenities play in household preferences for cities and their growing importance in determining the success of cities. As women's control over household resources has increased, a growing body of consumer behavior literature has been documenting gender differences in preferences for consumer goods. Yet, the quality of life literature does not seem to make any distinction along gender lines in determining preferences for local consumption amenities. We estimate the quality of life across US cities separately for unmarried men and women, and using a rich set of location‐specific amenities, examine which amenities cause preferences to differ between men and women. Our results suggest that men and women's valuations of cities are correlated, suggesting commonality in preferences for many location‐based amenities, most notably natural resources, but there are also important deviations in valuations especially for local public goods and gender role attitudes.