2010-07-31 papers

on Central and South America

Issue of 2010‒07‒31
two papers chosen by

The Persistent Gender Earnings Gap in Colombia, 1994-2006 By Hoyos, Alejandro; Nopo, Hugo; Peña, Ximena
Las Asignaciones Universales Por Hijo. Impacto, Discusión y Alternativas By Leonardo Gasparini; Guillermo Cruces

The Persistent Gender Earnings Gap in Colombia, 1994-2006

By:	Hoyos, Alejandro (Inter-American Development Bank); Nopo, Hugo (Inter-American Development Bank); Peña, Ximena (Universidad de los Andes)
Abstract:	This paper surveys gender earnings gaps in Colombia from 1994 to 2006, using matching comparisons to examine the extent to which individuals with similar human capital characteristics earn different wages. Three sub-periods are considered: 1994-1998; 2000-2001; and 2002- 2006, corresponding to the economic cycle of the Colombian economy. The gaps dropped from the first to the second period but remained almost unchanged between the second and the third. The gender earnings gap remains largely unexplained after controlling for different combinations of socio-demographics and job-related characteristics, reaching between 13 and 23 percent of average female earnings. That gap is lower at the middle of the wage distributions than the extremes, possibly due to a gender-equalizing effect of the minimum wage. Moreover, the gap is more pronounced for low-productivity workers and those who need flexibility to participate in labor markets. This suggests that policy interventions in the form of labor market regulations may have little impact on reducing gender earnings gaps.
Keywords:	gender, ethnicity, wage gaps, Latin America, Colombia, matching
JEL:	C14 D31 J16 O54
Date:	2010–07
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5073&r=lam

Las Asignaciones Universales Por Hijo. Impacto, Discusión y Alternativas

By:	Leonardo Gasparini (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP); Guillermo Cruces (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - FCE - UNLP)
Abstract:	Este documento estudia el impacto distributivo del programa de asignaciones familiares universales a pocos meses de su implementación. El trabajo contribuye con estimaciones de su potencial impacto directo sobre un conjunto de variables, incluyendo la pobreza y la desigualdad monetarias, y con la discusión de algunas opciones alternativas a la efectivamente implementada. El documento sostiene que el país ha avanzado en la dirección correcta en términos de basar su política social en un masivo programa de transferencias de ingreso, pero alerta sobre la necesidad de mejorar su estructura y asegurar su sustentabilidad, y señala algunas alternativas de implementación.
Date:	2010–07
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0102&r=lam

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