Projet GENRECO

The project investigates how the psychological profiles and value systems of economists differ by gender and how these characteristics evolve across academic careers, from PhD students to faculty members. While gender disparities in economics are well documented (particularly regarding access to senior positions and the distribution across subfields) the mechanisms underlying these patterns remain only partially understood. Conventional explanations, such as motherhood, age, or productivity differences, fail to fully account for the persistence of these gaps. This project proposes a novel perspective by focusing on personality traits (measured through the Big Five framework) and value orientations (drawing on Schwartz’s theory of basic values) as potential determinants of academic career trajectories. By combining these perspectives, the research examines both gender differences in psychological profiles and the ways these profiles evolve as individuals progress through different career stages. Empirically, the project will rely on the collection of an original large-scale survey of economists, first in France and later at the international level, covering researchers at different career stages. The data will be combined with advanced statistical and econometric analyses to investigate the relationships between psychological traits, professional trajectories, and gender disparities.