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Parents’ ambitions and children’s competitiveness

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  • Khadjavi, Menusch
  • Nicklisch, Andreas
Abstract
Individual competitiveness is a personality trait of high importance. While substantial differences between individuals have been documented, the sources of this heterogeneity are not well understood. To contribute to this issue we conduct an incentivized field study with pre-school children. We assess the children’s willingness to compete and relate the inclinations to ambitions and preferences of their parents. Parents’ ambitions concerning their children’s success in professional life predict their children’s competitiveness. In particular, children of highly ambitious parents tend to enter competition even if their chances to win are low. High ambitions are related to a relatively low socioeconomic background.

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  • Khadjavi, Menusch & Nicklisch, Andreas, 2018. "Parents’ ambitions and children’s competitiveness," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 87-102.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:67:y:2018:i:c:p:87-102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2018.05.004
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    Cited by:

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    2. John A. List & Ragan Petrie & Anya Samek, 2023. "How Experiments with Children Inform Economics," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(2), pages 504-564, June.
    3. Boneva, Teodora & Buser, Thomas & Falk, Armin & Kosse, Fabian, 2021. "The Origins of Gender Differences in Competitiveness and Earnings Expectations: Causal Evidence from a Mentoring Intervention," IZA Discussion Papers 14800, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Theresa Chaudhry & Rabia Arif, 2024. "The Impact of Consanguineous Marriage on Children’s Human Capital in Pakistan," Journal of South Asian Development, , vol. 19(1), pages 112-137, April.
    5. Sutter, Matthias & Zoller, Claudia & Glätzle-Rützler, Daniela, 2019. "Economic behavior of children and adolescents – A first survey of experimental economics results," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 98-121.
    6. Horn, Dániel & Kiss, Hubert János & Lénárd, Tünde, 2022. "Gender differences in preferences of adolescents: Evidence from a large-scale classroom experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 478-522.
    7. Ortiz-Merchán, Silvia & Lee-Ocampo, María José & Cuéllar-Harker, Sebastián & Bolívar, Maria Fernanda & Barriga, Diana & Hernández, David & Villasmil, Alexander & Mantilla, César, 2024. "Don’t leave your kid unattended? Sex differences in children’s competitiveness in presence of their guardian," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    8. Ingvild Almås & Alexander W. Cappelen & Kjell G. Salvanes & Erik Ø. Sørensen & Bertil Tungodden, 2016. "Willingness to Compete: Family Matters," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(8), pages 2149-2162, August.
    9. Khadjavi, Menusch & Sipangule, Kacana & Thiele, Rainer, 2024. "Exposure to large-scale farms increases smallholders’ competitive behavior and closes the gender gap," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    10. Jonas Tungodden & Alexander Willén, 2023. "When Parents Decide: Gender Differences in Competitiveness," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(3), pages 751-801.
    11. Thijs Brouwer & Fabio Galeotti & Marie Claire Villeval, 2023. "Teaching Norms: Direct Evidence of Parental Transmission," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(650), pages 872-887.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Children; Competition; Field experiment; Parents; Socialization; Intergenerational transmission;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles

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