Trust in cooperation or ability? – An experimental study on gender differences

We examine experimentally two different types of trust: trust in another party’s cooperation and trust in ability. In the cooperation condition, player A sends x ? {0, X} to player B. The amount x is multiplied by c = 3, and B can return y ? {0,3x}. In the ability condition, c depends on B’s performance in a mathematical test, with c = 5/3/1 for above average/average/below average performance. We examine the influences of gender on economic decisions. We find that gender has a strong effect in the ability condition, but no significant effect in the cooperation condition.