Discrimination and Disparities seminar: Marlène Koffi, August 14

August 2020
Date & time: Friday, August 14, 1:00-2:00pm ET

To receive the Zoom link for this seminar, please register here:

https://byu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0vcu6sqzgiHdLR0CWqX9ysMtjSgtCenxYi

Presenter: Marlène Koffi (University of Toronto)
Title: Innovative Ideas and Gender Inequality


Abstract:
This paper analyzes the recognition of women's innovative ideas. Bibliometric data from research in economics are used to investigate gender biases in citation patterns. Based on deep learning and machine learning techniques, one can (1) establish the similarities between papers (2) build a link between articles by identifying the papers citing, cited and that should be cited. This study finds that, on average, a paper omits almost half of related prior papers. There are, however, substantial heterogeneities among the authors. In fact, omitted papers are 15% to 30% more likely to be female-authored than male-authored. First, the most likely to be omitted are papers written by women (solo, mostly female team) working at mid-tier institutions, publishing in non-top journals. In a group of related papers, the probability of omission of those papers increases by 6 percentage points compared to men in similar affiliation when the citing authors are only males. Overall, for similar papers, having at least one female author reduces the probability of omitting other women's papers by up to 10 percentage points, whereas having only male authors increases the probability of being omitted by almost 4 percentage points. Second, the omission bias is twice as high in theoretical fields that involve mathematical economics than it is in applied fields such as education and health economics. Third, men benefit twice as much as women from publishing in a top journal, in terms of likelihood of being omitted. Lastly, being omitted with respect to past publications affects future productivity and reduces the probability of getting published in a top journal. Finally, peer effects and more editorial board diversity tend to counteract and reduce the omission bias.

Instructions and logistics:
To limit the possibility that we will be interrupted by internet trolls, please note the following:
  • Please do not post the seminar Zoom link online.
  • Use your real name when logging in, so that we know who you are and will admit you to the meeting.
  • All attendees will be automatically muted, and only the hosts or the presenter will be able to unmute you.
  • We will have the ability to kick individuals out of the meeting at any point.
The presenter will have 35 minutes to present their paper, with clarifying questions only. Then we will have 25 minutes for discussion.

If you have a question, you will need to raise your hand.
Click the “Participants” button (at the bottom of the screen).
Click “Raise Hand” to signal that you have a question.
The presenter will then unmute you to take your question.

The full schedule and instructions on how to join the email list are here: http://jenniferdoleac.com/online-seminar-on-discrimination-and-disparities/