Gender Differences as a Factor behind the Relationship between Prices and Public Perceptions of Prices

Abstract

The article attempts to define the role of gender factor behind the relationship between prices and how the population perceives the prices. The authors describe methodological limitations of the gender factor and propose possible ways to overcome them in terms of quantitative research methods and qualitative tools of data collection. In the quantitative studies a shift in the assessments of gender differences in price perceptions is caused by different levels of adaptation to price changes and real income movement. To avoid underestimation of gender differences, it is important to extend the temporal coverage of the data being analyzed. Within qualitative data collection methods, the sample is divided into subgroups based on the following categories: gender, specific perceptions of information, and economic behavior pattern. The authors consider that the methodological improvements proposed in the article will help overcome the limitations of research design resulted from the underestimation of gender differences when investigating the factors shaping price perceptions.

Acknowledgments. The article is part of the project “Factors behind the differences between consumer price dynamics and public perception of prices in the Moscow and Krasnodar regions” (no. 18-311-00215); the project was financed by Russian Foundation for Basic Research.