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on Gender |
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Issue of 2025–06–16
three papers chosen by Jan Sauermann, Institutet för Arbetsmarknads- och Utbildningspolitisk Utvärdering |
| By: | Hannah Illing; Hanna Schwank; Linh Tô |
| Abstract: | We investigate how the same hiring opportunity leads to different labor market outcomes for male and female full-time workers. Using administrative data from Germany spanning 1981 to 2016, we analyze firms’ wage-setting behavior in response to exogenous vacancies caused by sudden worker deaths. By identifying external replacement workers, we compare positions that, ex-ante, are equally likely to hire a male or female worker. Our analysis shows that female replacement workers’ starting wages are, on average, 11 log points lower than those of equally productive male counterparts. This gap is unlikely to be explained by differences in hours, within-firm adjustments, or outside options. Instead, the results suggest that firms may statistically discriminate by gender and that differences in worker bargaining play an important role. The gender hiring opportunity gap is lower in contexts where gender equality norms are stronger. These findings suggest that a significant portion of the gender wage gap originates within firms at the hiring stage, contributing to our understanding of the mechanisms behind persistent gender disparities in wages. |
| Keywords: | Economics of Gender, Wage Differentials, Vacancies |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J63 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_689 |
| By: | Maurizio Bussolo; Jonah Matthew Rexer; Lynn Hu |
| Abstract: | Legal institutions play an important role in shaping gender equality in economic domains, from inheritance to labor markets. But where do gender equal laws come from? Using cross-country data on social norms and legal equality, this paper investigates the socio- cultural roots of gender inequity in the legal system and its implications for female labor force participation. To identify the impact of social norms, the analysis uses an empirical strategy that exploits pre-modern differences in ancestral patriarchal culture as an instrument for present-day gender norms. The findings show that ancestral patriarchal culture is a strong predictor of contemporary norms, and conservative social norms are associated with more gender inequality in the de jure legal framework, the de facto implementation of laws, and the labor market. The paper presents evidence for a political selection mechanism linking norms to laws: countries with more conservative norms elect political leaders who are more hostile to gender equality, who then pass less progressive legislation. The results highlight the cultural roots and political drivers of legalized gender inequality. |
| Date: | 2025–05–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:11135 |
| By: | Corekcioglu, Gozde (Ozyegin University); Francesconi, Marco (University of Essex); Kunze, Astrid (Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the firm’s response to parental leave induced worker absence. Combining a 20-week maternal leave expansion in Norway and detailed matched employer-employee data between 1983 and 2013, we identify the causal impact of absence on outcomes using a shift-share design. Employers with greater exposure to absence hire more women aged 40 or less and face more employment turnover. These adjustments do not affect profits, but lead to greater investments and sales and to a lower value added and a lower wage bill. One important channel behind such changes is a significant growth of young female part-time employment. |
| Keywords: | employer-employee matched data, part-time employment, corporate outcomes, firm-level gender employment dynamics, workforce composition, shift-share research design |
| JEL: | L23 L25 J16 J21 J23 J81 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17893 |