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on Gender |
| By: | Tiiu Paas; Maryna Tverdostup |
| Abstract: | Maryna Tverdostup, Tiiu Paas, ERSA 2016: The paper focuses on the identification of the unique, non-reached by the opposite gender human capital and the analysis of its effect on the earning profiles of unique human capital holders. The overwhelming research aim is to better understand the possible reasons behind gender wage disparities, focusing on the unique features of male and female human capital and their returns. When assessing the gender pay disparities, variation of human capital characteristics across males and females is assumed to be one of the decisive factors of differences in the wage outcomes across gender groups. However, males and females may not only differ in the set of individual characteristics, but also the distributions of these variables can hardly overlap, inducing the issue which is commonly referred to as ?support problem?. Empirical part of the paper relies on the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC ? Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies) data (OECD 2013), including the estimates of cognitive abilities in literacy, numeracy and problem solving in technology-rich environment. We develop our empirical study using PIAAC national database for Estonia as a small, rapidly developing European economy characterized by high rate of female labor force participation and gender wage disparities. The issue of gender wage disparities is especially topical in the case of small and developing economies where labour markets are particularly sensitive to any gaps in returns to labour. Therefore, we believe that Estonian case is relevant in a wage gap research framework allowing making certain generalizations that will be of particular policy value for other relatively quickly developing economies and regions, where women?s labour participation rate is high and/or has a tendency to increase. In this paper, the unique, non-reached by the opposite gender human capital is identified and its effect on the earning profiles of unique human capital holders is analysed implementing several matching procedures and non-parametric decomposition. The results of the study show that the unique combination of skills, as a main component of the human capital, reached by males and females and unattained by opposite gender is one of the key sources of gender disparity in a human capital. The results revealed that male-unique human capital is at large extent embodied in combination of outstanding numerical and problem solving abilities, being often a strong competitive advantage of males. All in all, the novel perspective towards gender disparities in human capital and introducing a concept of gender-unique human capital within the wage gap framework, proved that men?s and women?s profiles cannot be directly compared, as particular characteristics are exclusive for certain gender. Ignoring this notion leads to overestimation of discriminatory labor market effects and thus imprecise wage inequality estimation. |
| Keywords: | human capital; gender wage gap; non-parametric decomposition; PIAAC; Estonia |
| JEL: | C14 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p157&r=gen |
| By: | Ben Yahmed, Sarra |
| Abstract: | In developing countries, a large share of employees work informally and are not covered by employment protection legislation. I study here how gender wage inequality differs across formal and informal jobs in Brazil. The raw gender wage gap is higher in informal jobs (13%) compared to formal jobs (5%), but I show that this difference is an artefact of different male and female selection processes. First, women have better observable characteristics than men and the female advantage is stronger among formal employees. Second, men and women entering formal and informal jobs have different unobservable characteristics. Controlling for endogenous selection into formal vs. informal jobs, I find that the gender gap in wage offers is high and increases with education in formal jobs. In informal jobs, however, estimated wage offers are the same for men and women. I discuss the potential implications of these findings regarding the effect of labour market regulation on gender wage gaps. |
| Keywords: | gender wage gaps,informality,selection into work statuses,Brazil |
| JEL: | J31 O17 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16085&r=gen |
| By: | Folke, Olle (Uppsala University); Rickne, Johanna (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This paper addresses women's under-representation in top jobs in organizational hierarchies. We show that promotions to top jobs dramatically increase women's probability of divorce, but do not affect men's marriages. This effect is causally estimated for top jobs in the political sector, where close electoral results deliver exogenous variation in promotions across job candidates. Descriptive evidence from job promotions to the position of CEO shows that private sector promotions result in the same gender inequality in the risk of divorce. A description of male and female job candidates' household formations sheds some light on the mechanism behind this result. For most male candidates for top jobs, their promotion aligns with the gender-specialized division of paid and unpaid labor in their households. Many female candidates for top jobs live in dual-earner households and are married to older husbands who take a small share of parental leave. Divorce among women in top jobs occurs more often in couples with a larger age gap and a less equal division of leave, and in households in which her promotion shifts the division of earnings (further) away from the norm of male dominance. No divorce effect is found in couples that are more gender-equal in terms of having a smaller age gap and a more equal division of parental leave. We argue that norms and behavior in the marriage market hinder the closure of the gender gap in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | Promotions; Marriage; Social norms; Divorce; Career |
| JEL: | H00 J12 J16 |
| Date: | 2016–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1146&r=gen |
| By: | Bryson, Alex (University College London); Dale-Olsen, Harald (Institute for Social Research, Oslo); Nergaard, Kristine (Fafo) |
| Abstract: | Trade unions have transformed from male-dominated organisations rooted in manufacturing to majority-female organisations serving predominantly white-collar workers, often in the public sector. Adopting a comparative case study approach using nationally representative linked employer-employee surveys for Norway and Britain we examine whether, in keeping with a median voter model, the gender shift in union membership has resulted in differential wage returns to unionisation among men and women. In Britain, while only women receive a union wage premium, only men benefit from the increased bargaining power of their union as indicated by workplace union density. In Norway, on the other hand, although a union wage premium arises from individual union membership for men and women in male-dominated unions, in workplaces where the union is female-dominated women benefit more than men from the increased bargaining power of the union as union density rises. The findings suggest British unions continue to adopt a paternalistic attitude to representing their membership, in contrast to their more progressive counterparts in Norway. |
| Keywords: | trade unions, collective bargaining, union density, wage premium, gender |
| JEL: | J28 J51 J81 L23 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10435&r=gen |
| By: | Ilse Lindenlaub (Yale University); Anja Prummer (Queen Mary University of London) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents gender differences in social ties and develops a theory that links them to disparities in men's and women's labor market performance. Men's networks lead to better access to information, women's to higher peer pressure. Both affect effort in a model of teams, each beneficial in different environments. We find that information is particularly valuable under high uncertainty, whereas peer pressure is more valuable in the opposite case. We therefore expect men to outperform women in jobs that are characterized by high earnings uncertainty, such as the financial sector or film industry - in line with the evidence. |
| Keywords: | Networks, Peer pressure, Gender, Labor market outcomes |
| JEL: | J15 Z10 D02 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:wp807&r=gen |
| By: | Christine L. Exley; Muriel Niederle; Lise Vesterlund |
| Abstract: | Gender differences in the propensity to negotiate are often used to explain the gender wage gap, popularizing the push for women to “lean-in.” We use a laboratory experiment to examine the effect of leaning-in. Despite men and women achieving similar and positive returns when they must negotiate, we find that women avoid negotiations more often than men. While this suggests that women would benefit from leaning-in, a direct test of the counterfactual proves otherwise. Women appear to positively select into negotiations and to know when to ask. By contrast, we find no significant evidence of a positive selection for men. |
| JEL: | C9 J01 J16 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22961&r=gen |
| By: | Karlsson, Tobias (Department of Economic History, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper traces the origins and early history of perceived gender differences in absenteeism in Great Britain and the USA. Among politicians and scholars, the problem was first articulated during World War I and reappeared as an issue of prime concern during World War II. The war efforts required mobilization and allocation of large numbers of women to jobs that had previously been done by men while maintaining high and continuous flows of production in an economy that was increasingly characterized by high capital intensity. The most common explanation of women’s higher levels of absenteeism was their double burden of wage work and unpaid household duties. Although researchers in the field were cautious to give policy recommendations, the studies on absenteeism revealed that ‘industrial fatigue’ could have negative effects on productivity and helped to motivate regulations on working hours. Studies on absenteeism also encouraged firms to professionalize personnel management and to reinforce apprehensions of differences between men and women as workers and employees. Some employers and other policy makers referred to gender differences in absenteeism to motivate wage discrimination. |
| Keywords: | absenteeism; gender; Great Britain; United States; World War I; World War II |
| JEL: | H56 J16 M54 N32 N34 N42 N44 |
| Date: | 2016–12–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2016_026&r=gen |
| By: | Bruno Jeandidier; Cécile Bourreau-Dubois; Jean-Claude Ray; Myriam Doriat-Duban |
| Abstract: | This article assesses whether and to what extent gender matters in one particular area of the civil law system, family law. Using a dataset of 2,000 child support decisions from French courts of appeal, we show that in a civil law system like that in France, the gender of the judge does seem to matter. We find that this influence is likely to manifest itself in two ways. First, our results show that female and male judges do not make the same decisions: comparatively to the latter, the former (i) are more generous, fixing higher amounts of child support (the difference represents between 8% and 17% of the average amount of child support), and (ii) make more pro-mother decisions, regardless of whether the mothers are debtors or creditors. The magnitude of these differences is greater when the panel is composed of three female judges, comparatively to mixed or all-male panels. |
| Keywords: | judicial decision-making; gender; family law. |
| JEL: | K41 K36 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2016-55&r=gen |
| By: | Donato Masciandaro; Paola Profeta; Davide Romelli |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the gender representation in monetary policy committees, offering three contributions. We propose the first index to evaluate the gender representation in monetary policymaking – i.e. the GMP Index – for a sample of 112 countries as of 2015. Second, we investigate the drivers of gender diversity in monetary policy committees. Our results show that, besides legal (Common Law), religious (Orthodox), historical (French colony) and socio-economic (female labour force) drivers, the gender representation is more likely to be relevant in countries characterized by a well-defined central bank governance, i.e. more independent central banks and less involved in supervision. Finally, we test whether gender diversity in central bank boards affects the conduct of monetary policy and hence macroeconomic outcomes. We find that gender diversity is inversely associated with inflation rates and money growth. The presence of women in central bank boards seems to be associated with a more hawkish approach to monetary policy making. |
| Keywords: | Inflation, Monetary Policy, Central Banks and their Policies, Gender Economics |
| JEL: | E31 E52 E58 J16 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:baf:cbafwp:cbafwp1512&r=gen |
| By: | Dario Sansone (Georgetown University) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates how to reduce the gender gap in STEM fields in the US. It quantifies the impact of high-school teachers’ gender, beliefs and behavior on students’ beliefs about girls’ abilities in math and science. Furthermore, it shows that such beliefs affect female students’ decision to take advanced math and science classes in high school, as well as their intentions to choose a STEM major once freshman in college. |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crp:wpaper:165&r=gen |
| By: | Ma.Jesus Gomez Adillon; M.Angels Cabases Pique; Agnes Pardell Vea |
| Abstract: | In Catalonia, between 2008 and 2014, the rate of youth unemployment has exponentially increased and it has turned into a structural problem: when the fourth quarter of 2014 ended, among the people under the age of 30, the number of unemployed people was 1,495,600, 645,000 more than in the first quarter of 2008. In addition, with the data provided by the Spanish Tax Agency, the average wage of wage earners over 25 years in 2014 is 3.4 times superior to the young people and the reduction of the average wage of these is 2.8 times bigger. Moreover, during this period, the annual income of women has shortened the distance in relation to men, mainly the employed group, from a ratio of 1.40 to 1.30, but in contrast, the number of women receiving minimal resources (MW and MP) has worsened: in relation to employees, 31.7% of the total number within this subgroup. In order to highlight the uneven impact of recession on the labor market in Catalonia, this study examines the evolution of its main variables in the period 2008-2014 from a gender and age perspectives delving into the structure wages and analyzing the distribution of inter-group and intra-group inequality between men and women. |
| Keywords: | : labor market; wages; youth; gender inequality |
| JEL: | E24 J21 J31 E3 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa16p178&r=gen |
| By: | Hazarika, Gautam (The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) |
| Abstract: | Cross-national empirical studies of corruption commonly find that nations in which women play a greater role in economic and public life suffer less corruption. This finding has been controversial in that measures of women's participation in the labour force and politics are potentially endogenous. This study uses an aspect of national ancestral geography as an instrumental variable towards estimating the true causal effect of gender upon corruption. The ensuing estimates indicate that ordinary least squares estimates of the coefficients of regressors measuring women's economic and political influ-ence, in regressions in which measured corruption is the dependent variable, are substantially biased. |
| Keywords: | gender, corruption |
| JEL: | J16 D73 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10426&r=gen |
| By: | Catherine Sofer (Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne and Paris School of Economics); Claire Thibout (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | The effects of women’s strong investments in career on the intra-household division of labor, particularly the share of partners in domestic work, constitute important but unaddressed issues. We use the 2010 French Time Use survey, focusing on two-income couples. We first build indicators of female investment in career, measured in comparison to other similar women or to the woman’s partner. We then investigate how the partners allocate time according to the intensity of women’s investment. To achieve this objective, we estimate a five-equation model of domestic and labor market work by partners and the use of domestic help. We show that couples where women are invested in career tend to share tasks more equally. These women do less domestic work during weekdays. This diminution is partly compensated on weekends by their partners, but also slightly by women themselves on weekends when they invest more in their careers than their partners do. Also, when they are heavily invested in their careers compared to other women, they tend to use more often domestic help. However, even when women dedicate themselves more than their partners to their careers, women still spend more time on domestic tasks than their partners on average, implying no role reversal in the division of labor. |
| Keywords: | Time use, gender, division of labor, domestic production, household decisionmaking |
| JEL: | D13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2016n38&r=gen |
| By: | Algan, Yann (Sciences Po, Paris); Fortin, Nicole M. (University of British Columbia, Vancouver) |
| Abstract: | Using the PISA surveys (2000-2012), this paper explores the relationship between math test scores and everyday computer gaming by gender and for high income and middle income countries. We use two identification strategies in the spirit of an ideal experiment that would reduce computer gaming through limited internet access or through schools alternative demands. We find that everyday computer gaming has positive effects for boys, but negative effects for girls arising mostly in collaborative games suggesting a role for social effects. Computer gaming is becoming the new "swimming upstream" factor in the quest to close the gender gap in math. |
| Keywords: | math test scores, computer gaming, internet access, gender differences |
| JEL: | J16 I2 |
| Date: | 2016–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10433&r=gen |