Testosterone and the tendency to engage in self-employment

Does testosterone increase the tendency to engage in self-employment? The results presented to date have been mixed. Using three different studies, we provide additional evidence on the relationship between testosterone and self-employment. Drawing on a cross-section of 2,146 individuals (1,178 males and 968 females) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys’ (NHANES’) 2011-2012 sample, and controlling for endogeneity (with red blood cell count, percentage Hematocrit, and zinc supplements intake in the past 30-days as instruments), serum testosterone levels are positively associated with self-employment for males (marginally significant, two-tailed test). As testosterone levels could be affected by social, economic, and biological factors during one’s life course, to draw more robust inferences we assess whether the 2D:4D digit ratio, a marker of prenatal testosterone exposure, influences the likelihood of self-employment. We reviewed a sample of 971 cases (449 males and 525 females) from Understanding Society’s Innovation Panel 6 (IP6), and our results indicate that males (females) with lower 2D:4D ratio in their left hand, or higher prenatal testosterone exposure, have a significantly greater (marginally significant for females) likelihood of self-employment (two-tailed test). Finally, we examine the twin testosterone transfer effect in a sample of opposite-sex and same-sex twins from the National Survey of Midlife Development (MIDUS I) in the Unites States and provide additional support for the marginally significant (two-tailed test) positive association between testosterone and self-employment

The biological perspective in entrepreneurship research

The past decade has experienced a significant increase in the number of papers on the biology of entrepreneurship. This trend is aligned with the general interest in the biology of management studies as evidenced by the more than 300 articles already published (Nofal et al., 2018). It illustrates the progression of science along two dimensions. First is the drive to seek smaller units of analyses to identify the core mechanisms of action. Second is the opposing drive to seek larger units of analyses to identify general principles. These simultaneous processes move our understanding of social and natural phenomena closer to a unified theory. In this note, we reflect on how the biology of why, how, what, when, and where of entrepreneurship represents a natural progression from the institutional, organizational, and psychological explanations. We call this the biological perspective in entrepreneurship (BPE), which is illustrated by the papers in this volume. We examine the key domains of inquiry, various methodologies, and reflect on the directions that future research should take

Chapter 5 The Biology of Entrepreneurship

In this chapter, we provide a systematic review of the biological perspective in entrepreneurship. Specifically, we systematically review research linking the three biological strands of genetics, physiology, and neuroscience to entrepreneurship. We discuss the findings of this growing literature and how incorporating biology into the study of entrepreneurship can enhance our understanding of various entrepreneurial outcomes. We then discuss the mechanisms through which biology affects entrepreneurship. Finally, we conclude with directions for future research

Challenging Gender in Single-Sex Spaces: Lessons from a Feminist Softball League

This Article explores transgender inclusion within adult recreational women’s leagues by using the example of the Mary Vazquez Women’s Softball League (MVWSL), in Northampton, Massachusetts. A MVWSL policy addressing transgender inclusion became necessary due to a noticeable increase in gender-identity diversity. The resultant policy respects the league’s core lesbian constituency by providing individuals with the freedom to acknowledge openly a gender identity that has or is evolving from lesbian to something else, and reflects the league’s founding feminist principles by refusing to define for others the suitability of a women’s community. The Author demonstrates the successful creation of a policy based on internal principles and values rather than external ones, and defines inclusion and prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. This application can be applied in other sporting contexts that separate players by sex to determine the values-driven process of defining who is eligible in each category or, when separation is necessary, to promote the objectives of the leagues, particularly when such a policy is absent from public law

Empirical Evidence on the Use of Credit Scoring for Predicting Insurance Losses with Psycho-social and Biochemical Explanations

An important development in personal lines of insurance in the United States is the use of credit history data for insurance risk classification to predict losses. This research presents the results of collaboration with industry conducted by a university at the request of its state legislature. The purpose was to see the viability and validity of the use of credit scoring to predict insurance losses given its controversial nature and criticism as redundant of other predictive variables currently used. Working with industry and government, this study analyzed more than 175,000 policyholders’ information for the relationship between credit score and claims. Credit scores were significantly related to incurred losses, evidencing both statistical and practical significance. We investigate whether the revealed relationship between credit score and incurred losses was explainable by overlap with existing underwriting variables or whether the credit score adds new information about losses not contained in existing underwriting variables. The results show that credit scores contain significant information not already incorporated into other traditional rating variables (e.g., age, sex, driving history). We discuss how sensation seeking and self-control theory provide a partial explanation of why credit scoring works (the psycho-social perspective). This article also presents an overview of biological and chemical correlates of risk taking that helps explain why knowing risk-taking behavior in one realm (e.g., risky financial behavior and poor credit history) transits to predicting risk-taking behavior in other realms (e.g., automobile insurance incurred losses). Additional research is needed to advance new nontraditional loss prediction variables from social media consumer information to using information provided by technological advances. The evolving and dynamic nature of the insurance marketplace makes it imperative that professionals continue to evolve predictive variables and for academics to assist with understanding the whys of the relationships through theory development.IC2 Institut

Sex and Gender Segregation in Competitive Sport: Internal and External Normative Perspectives

What are the justifications for mandatory sex segregation in competitive sport, and what are the arguments against it? This article takes up these questions. I argue that justifications of sex segregation in sport should be sensitive to two distinct perspectives that can come into play. The “internal” perspective emphasizes considerations rooted in an ethos of athletic competition. The “external” perspective brings into focus broader social norms such as anti-discrimination principles and equality goals. Both perspectives support the general idea of separate men’s and women’s competitions, at least in elite levels of sports that reward physical strength and power. The perspectives may diverge, however, on specific questions about who should be permitted to compete in each division, and more particularly, on the appropriate treatment of transgender athletes. What is important to see is that objections that arise from the external vantage point of equality and anti-discrimination cannot be fully answered by appeal to internal considerations about the competitive integrity of sport. Institutional decisions to exclude classes of individuals from participating in men’s or women’s competitions must consider not only what would be best for the sport, but what is required by antidiscrimination principles and genuine commitment to respect for gender identity and expression

'Men give in to chips and beer too easily': How working-class men make sense of gender differences in health

This article, based on qualitative research with working-class men, explores men's perceptions and experiences regarding gender differences in health. It demonstrates how men put forward a range of behavioural/cultural, materialist/structural and psychosocial factors, which were believed to differently impact men's health compared to women. A common theme underpinning their explanations was the ways in which men and women were located within two distinct gender categories. These characterisations were used to explain why health-damaging beliefs and behaviours were more prevalent among men and also why men were better suited for certain kinds of jobs, albeit with potential costs to their health. Men also believed that women were protected from the damaging physical and emotional impact of manual employment because of their primary role within the home and because they were less emotionally robust, which required men to shield women from the stresses they experienced. However, men's emotional withdrawal can also be viewed as another example of how men use whatever resources are available to achieve and maintain dominance over women. Finally, the article demonstrates how a gender- and class-based approach can capture the impact of men's health-related practices alongside the broader cultural and structural influences on men's health

Men’s Perinatal Mental Health in the Transition to Fatherhood

While fathers have come to be more involved with their partners and infants throughout the perinatal period, recent research has shown that roughly 10% of new dads experience mental health difficulties including depression and anxiety. Unfortunately, few psychologists receive focused training regarding conceptualizing, assessing, or treating common men’s issues in the period spanning from conception through a year post-partum. Because men tend not to seek mental health services during this period, the lack of scholarly attention to this vulnerable group reflects a commonly overlooked public mental health disparity. This article provides an overview of the key factors which research and theory suggest inform new fatherhood, along with an in-depth look at paternal postpartum depression. Implications for further practice and research are discussed. Specifically, the authors review psychosocial factors including masculine socialization, self-efficacy, social support, involvement with babies, and paternal postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. Finally, implications for research and practice are discussed

The Irrational Actor in the CEO Suite: Implications for Corporate Governance

This Article challenges corporate governance theorists’ standard assumptions regarding the rationality of business leaders. It reviews scholarly research that documents the presence of irrational actors among senior corporate managers and considers the impact these executives might have on corporations and society. The Article focuses analysis on psychological literature that explores why risk-related decision-making often goes wrong. Research shows that many individuals have a dysfunctional approach to risk that leads them to engage in self-destructive conduct. A non-trivial number of individuals with problematic personality traits work at high levels of major corporations where they have the capacity to cause significant harm. This reality poses challenges for policy prescriptions based on the rational actor theory – the idea that laws should be designed to harness an individual’s propensity to act in his rational self-interest. One potential danger is that policies that promote the pursuit of self-interest have the unintended effect of attracting individuals with antisocial traits to join the corporate workforce. Another concern is that policies that emphasize self-interest may exacerbate antisocial tendencies among corporate employees, leading to increasingly risky and unethical corporate conduct. The Article weighs these possibilities and offers recommendations for reform