Mind the Gap: The Role of Gender in Economic Confidence
One of the constants in Rasmussen Reports Consumer Index tracking of economic confidence is that women are more skeptical about the economy than men. Some might say that women are more pessimistic while others might say more realistic; the gap is a regular feature of consumer confidence data.
From 2005 to 2008, as overall confidence in the economy declined, men expressed a higher level of confidence about the economy than women by an average of 16.5 points every month. Although sentiments varied on a monthly basis, opinions seemed to rise and fall uniformly between the genders.
However, December of 2008 marked an interesting shift in gender dynamics. For the first time since Rasmussen Reports began tracking confidence, the disparity between men and women dropped to the single digits – coming close to matching one another several times in the last two years.
Do men or women feel more confident about their own personal finances or the economy at large? Is there more skepticism over the future of personal finances or the economy? Become a Platinum Service member to find out.
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