Gender and Competition in Times of COVID-19
36 Pages Posted: 9 Feb 2023
Date Written: February 7, 2023
Abstract
The outbreak of COVID-19 generated an unprecedented shock in the short-term rental market. Here we use data from Airbnb to examine whether gender influences en- trepreneurs’ reactions to this large economic shock. Our identification strategy relies on the price adjustments operated by entrepreneurs in response to the COVID-19 out- break in the first quarter of 2020. We show that men cut prices of their accommodations more aggressively than women in response to the pandemic outbreak. This aggressive price reaction is not reflected in an increase in the number of new bookings. Overall our results suggest that men compete more aggressively than women in response to large uncertainty shocks.
Keywords: Gender, COVID, Entrepreneurship, Sharing Economy
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