Reading Lounge

1. What Is It Like to Be a Man?

2. How the bicycle beats evolution and why Steve Jobs was so taken with this fact

3. Beneficial wrongdoing

4. Will India's women decide the election?

5. Pun had asked for a safety strap, but his Chinese supervisor had told him: “It is just a three-storey building. You won’t die even if you fall.”

6. In defence of puns

"It is a general stylized fact that girls underperform in math; this constitutes one of the most resistant gender gaps of modern societies. We show that this specific handicap has been sharply attenuated in East Germany."

In those rare individual cases 

where women approach genius 

they also approach masculinity.

Otto Weininger - Sex and Character

A sentimental glance back into history.

Math, girls and socialism (Pdf)

Quentin Lippmann & Claudia Senik

Abstract:

This paper argues that the socialist episode in East Germany, which constituted a radical experiment in gender equality in the labor market and other instances, has left persistent tracks on gender norms. We focus on one of the most resilient and pervasive gender gaps in modern societies: mathematics. Using the German division as a natural experiment, we show that the underperformance of girls in math is sharply reduced in the regions of the former GDR, in contrast with those of the former FRG. We show that this East–West difference is due to girls’ attitudes, confidence and competitiveness in math, and not to other confounding factors, such as the difference in economic conditions or teaching styles across the former political border. We also provide illustrative evidence that the gender gap in math is smaller in European countries that used to be part of the Soviet bloc, as opposed to the rest of Europe. The lesson is twofold: (1) a large part of the pervasive gender gap in math is due to social stereotypes; (2) institutions can durably modify these stereotypes.

Conclusions 

The claim of this paper is that the socialist episode has exerted long lasting multidirectional effects on women’s expectations, self-confidence and choices. Previous studies have shown that women’s attachment to paid work was greater in East Germany. This paper extends the same conjecture to girls’ appetence for mathematics and achievement therein. It is a general stylized fact that girls underperform in math; this constitutes one of the most resistant gender gaps of modern societies. We show that this specific handicap has been sharply attenuated in East Germany. Even in recent years, girls’ performance in math, as measured by international standardized PISA scores, is closer to that of boys in the regions of the former GDR, as opposed to the former FRG. Evidence from the international standardized PISA scores, the International Mathematical Olympiads and International Chess competitions, suggest that the gender gap in math and math-minded competitions is generally smaller in countries of the former Soviet bloc, as opposed to other European countries. We interpret this stylized fact as a legacy of socialist institutions and policies that enacted, in a particularly compelling way, the objective of female full-employment. Policies that facilitated labor market participation and maternity for women were accompanied by official propaganda sustaining stereotypes of professionally active women, whose work was praised as a political engagement in the construction of socialism. Overall, this normative pressure changed the conception of gender roles and identity in many dimensions, including girls’ school curricula and performance.

Women’s spousal choices and a man’s handshake: Evidence from Norway

Women’s spousal choices and a man’s handshake: Evidence from a Norwegian study of cohort differences

This much can be said right from the start. If you are male and unmarried, bad for your life expectancy. Some men would doubt that. Men benefit from being a sort of daredevil, or as the study puts it, "behavioral risk profile". Then the expected twist follows. Wives "benefit from the greater financial security provided by their husbands". Now that's surprising. There's more funny stuff where that came from. Enjoy!

Introduction 

Understanding the relationship between marriage and functional level requires that we can explain how men and women are sorted into marriage as well as how health trajectories may be subsequently affected by the presence or influence of a spouse. Evidence from Norway indicates that mortality risks are elevated for those who are not married, particularly for men (Berntsen, 2011). Researchers generally agree that married people enjoy better health and longevity, although the health ‘premium’ of marriage also appears to be larger for men than women (Aizer et al., 2013; Lamb, Lee, & DeMaris, 2003; Lillard & Waite, 1995; Robles, 2014). 

The mechanisms responsible for better health among the married are also thought to differ for men and women. Whereas husbands benefit more from improved behavioral risk profiles, wives benefit from the greater financial security provided by their husbands (Reczek, Pudrovska, Carr, Thomeer, & Umberson, 2016). Wives encourage healthier behaviors and preventive care, while discouraging unhealthy lifestyles and providing social support. In contrast, wives benefit from enhanced economic circumstances and health benefits that stem from the additional resources that a joint household represents, particularly if they are not employed themselves (Waldron, Hughes, & Brooks, 1996).

We now turn to the importance of grip strength. Which male does not!

Low grip strength among those who lack a partner can imply a lower capacity to cope with everyday challenges and less healthy daily routines, including nutrition and activities. The fact that many are alone with low grip could imply that more attention needs to be given to this group, particularly given their relatively poor health. Even in high income welfare states such as Norway, the provision of care and assistance to disabled older individuals often falls on their spouses (Aronson & Neysmith, 1997; Soma & Yamashita, 2011) — and to wives in particular (Costa‐Font, Karlsson, & Øien, 2016; Lee & Tang, 2013). Reliance on this informal network of care assumes that older men who require care in later life will have wives available to provide it. Marriage, particularly when one partner is physically impaired or requires assistance, can be central to the health of the couple. 

As women tend to outlive men, albeit often in poorer health, the gender dimension is important to understand health outcomes and marriage (Liu & Waite, 2014; Miller, Hollist, Olsen, & Law, 2013). Trends in gender specific health and marriage could therefore be important determinants of the sustainable of welfare states (Carone et al., 2005; Langer et al., 2015). However, our results hint that women may be favoring partners who signal strength and vigor when they marry. If longer-lived women marry healthier men, then both may avoid or defer the role of caregiver, while less healthy men remain unmarried and must look elsewhere for assistance. Women’s economic dependence has been reduced as women have become more educated, more skilled, more experienced, and more inclined towards employment. Men’s ‘health dependence’ may require a different sort of education and experience as well as new housing alternatives that provide more collective in lieu of spousal support.

If you are looking for some fun reading, Pdf is here.

Bonus trivia: A similar study was made in Japan. Here with the additional benefit of alcohol consumption.