Gender debate in economics: "Men and women behave differently"

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Economist Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln: The gender issue is essential for answering key economic questions

Photo: Kay Nietfeld / picture alliance / dpa

SPIEGEL:

Ms. Fuchs-Schündeln, German economists want to deal with gender equality at their annual meeting this week.

Can that succeed - when economics is seen by many as a rather male science?

To person

Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln

studied economics in Cologne and at the US elite universities Harvard and Yale.

Since 2009 she has been researching the labor market, German unification and tax policy as a professor at the Goethe University in Frankfurt.

In 2019 she was elected chairman by the members of the economists' organization Verein für Socialpolitik.

Fuchs-Schündeln:

I disagree with that.

There are only a few women among German economics professors, as the new status report of our association shows.

But things are looking better for the next generation, and a lot has happened in science itself.

In all fields of economics it has meanwhile arrived that the gender issue is inevitable for answering central economic questions.

SPIEGEL:

But economics still focuses on the sober weighing of costs and benefits.

Isn't that an extremely cold, male view of the world?

Fuchs-Schündeln:

This is how only the simplest models begin.

In the meantime, the economy has also come to realize that, for example, norms and social status play an important role, and that people sometimes act unselfishly.

Of course, economics uses quantitative methods.

But I wouldn't see that as something typically masculine.

Economics as a social science poses questions that interest women as well as men.

SPIEGEL:

Many of your male colleagues think the gender issue is more of a fuss, as former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder used to put it.

Were there any concerns about putting the annual conference under this topic? 

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Fuchs-Schündeln:

No, economists, whether male or female, are long past this stage.

It is now mainstream in science that private households are not gender-neutral entities.

Instead, many studies have shown that men and women behave differently, for example across the business cycle.

This has important economic consequences, also for financial or monetary policy.

SPIEGEL:

On the other hand, gender equality has made great strides in the past few years.

There are now more women in employment in Germany than ever before.

Isn't that a great success? 

Fuchs-Schündeln:

It is true that the labor force participation of women in the Federal Republic corresponds roughly to the European average today.

But at the same time the number of their weekly working hours is lower than in almost any other country.

Most women work part-time, and this is primarily for economic reasons.

"A quota is always only the second-best solution"

SPIEGEL:

Which ones?

Fuchs-Schündeln:

Spouse splitting rewards when women only work part-time.

There is also the mini-job system, which only allows a limited number of working hours.

Both of these factors contribute to the fact that many couples in this country opt for the traditional division of roles between employment and childcare.

On this point, the Federal Republic is far behind in an international comparison.

SPIEGEL:

That apparently also applies to economics, as your study on professorial positions has shown.

Could a quota help?

Fuchs-Schündeln:

A quota is always only the second-best solution.

I would be happy if we didn't have to introduce them.

On the other hand, behavioral economics has shown that one can only emerge from firmly established role models when the number of female role models is large enough.

That's why a quota can be the right way to move faster, including in science. 

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