Gender gap in consumer expectations

This paper provides empirical evidence of the persistence of gender gaps in consumer expectations regarding personal finances and the national economy's performance. Using individual-level data from two independent but comparable consumer attitude surveys – one nationally representative of the US and the other statewide representative of Florida – it demonstrates that women are significantly less likely than men to hold optimistic expectations about their personal financial situation and US business conditions over the next year and the next 5 years. These gender expectation gaps, ranging from 5% to 8.5% points, remain highly significant even after controlling for respondents' socio-demographic characteristics, as well as survey-month and geographic location (including zip code) fixed effects. Furthermore, these gaps are prevalent in both surveys and have been present for more than four decades. Although persistent over time, these gender differences tend to narrow during periods of economic hardship and widen during economic expansions.