The Gender Wage Gap: A Comparison of Australia and Canada

ILR Review ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 729-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Kidd ◽  
Michael Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Rate Of Return ◽  
Wage Determination ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Market Experience ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Labour Market Activity

Using data from the 1989 Canadian Labour Market Activity Survey and, for Australia, the 1989–90 Income Distribution Survey, the authors investigate the reasons for the significantly lower gender wage gap in Australia than in Canada. Key similarities and differences between these two countries, the authors argue, make them a good basis for a “natural experiment” to investigate the effects of different labor market institutions. In particular, Australia has a stronger union movement and a greater degree of centralization in wage determination than Canada, and most of its workers are covered by legally binding minimum working conditions. The authors conclude that several differences between the countries in labor market structure—notably, a lower rate of return to education, a lower rate of return to labor market experience, and a lower level of wage inequality in Australia than in Canada—are largely responsible for the smaller gender wage gap in Australia.

scholarly journals Trends in Wage Inequality in the Netherlands

De Economist ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colja Schneck
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
Educational Degree ◽  
Over Time

AbstractIn this paper I analyze changes in the wage distribution in the Netherlands. I use a matched employer-employee dataset that covers the population of employees. Wage inequality increases over the period of 2001–2016. Changes in between-firm wage components are responsible for nearly the entire increase. Increases in the variance of workers’ skills and increases in worker sorting and worker segregation explain the majority of the rise in the variance of wages. These changes are accompanied by a pattern where variation in educational degree and firm average wages become more correlated over time. Finally, it is suggested that labor market institutions in the Netherlands play an important role in mediating overall wage inequality.

Wages of Skilled Migrant and Native Employees in Germany: New Light on an Old Issue

2021 ◽  
pp. 019791832110405
Author(s):  
Stephan Brunow ◽  
Oskar Jost
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Structure ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Wage Setting ◽  
Demographic Ageing ◽  
Labor Market Experience ◽  
Market Experience ◽  
Experience Curves

The German Council of Economic Experts (GCEE) argues for a labor market-driven immigration of skilled migrants into Germany to overcome a decline in workforce due to demographic ageing. We pick up this current debate on skilled immigration by analyzing the migrant-native wage differential for skilled workers in Germany and consider various information on firms. Our results indicate that the wage gap is mainly explained by observable characteristics, especially labor market experience and firm characteristics. However, we find lower rewards for migrants’ labor market experience than for natives (flatter experience curves). Our results show that these differences in experience curves become negligible in the long run. Moreover, we reveal firms’ wage-setting policies: Firms evaluate a worker's education independent of migration backgrounds, as migrants possess the same productivity levels as their German counterparts in the same occupations and task levels. Due to Germany's heterogeneous immigration structure, we are able to compare the results for different migrant subgroups and, thus, derive valuable insights into the migrant-native wage structure with a wide reach beyond Germany. This article adds to current debates in various industrialized countries with demographic ageing patterns, as it focuses on an important group for domestic labor markets: skilled immigrants.

Glass Ceilings in Portugal?

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Mendes
Keyword(s):  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Glass Ceiling ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Gender Segregation ◽  
Ceiling Effect ◽  
Wage Distribution ◽  
Women's Wages ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
Women's Role

Despite the evidence of female progress with regard to women’s role in the labor market, gender inequality remains. Women are still less likely to be employed than men, occupational gender segregation continues, and females continue to earn less than males. The gender wage gap remains wide in several occupational sectors, among which is the information technology (IT) sector. This paper focuses the determinants of gender wage inequality. More precisely, it investigates for statistical evidence of a glass ceiling effect on women’s wages. Based on the quantile regression framework, the empirical analysis extends the decomposition of the average gender wage gap to other parts of the earnings distribution. The main objective is to empirically test whether gender-based wage discrimination is greater among high paid employees, in line with glass ceiling hypothesis. Larger unexplained gaps at the top of the wage distribution indicate the existence of a glass ceiling effect in Portugal.

scholarly journals How Do Labor Market Institutions Influence the Preference to Work in Family Firms? A Multilevel Analysis Across 40 Countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 1067-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörn H. Block ◽  
Christian O. Fisch ◽  
James Lau ◽  
Martin Obschonka ◽  
André Presse
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Occupational Choice ◽  
Family Firms ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
Family Firm ◽  
Wage Determination ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
Employer Branding ◽  
Market Institutions ◽  
National Labor Market

Family firms must attract talented employees to stay competitive. They have different employer characteristics than nonfamily firms. For example, although they generally offer lower wages, they also typically offer higher job security and a more cooperative and entrepreneurial work environment. However, drawing on occupational choice theory, we argue that the importance of these unique family firm characteristics depends on the national labor market context in which the family firm is embedded. A multilevel investigation of 12,746 individuals in 40 countries shows that individuals prefer to work in family firms in labor markets with flexible unregulated hiring and firing practices, centralized wage determination, and low labor–employer cooperation. A cross-level analysis further shows that the national labor market context moderates the effects of individual-level factors determining the preference to work in a family firm (e.g., entrepreneurship intention). Our article is the first to consider labor market institutions in research on family firms as employers. Practical implications exist for family firms regarding their employer branding and intrapreneurship strategies.

scholarly journals ANALYSIS OF GENDER WAGE DIFFERENTIAL IN CHINA’S URBAN LABOR MARKET

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (02) ◽  
pp. 423-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALMAS HESHMATI ◽  
BIWEI SU
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Wage Differential ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Women's Labor ◽  
Step Procedure ◽  
Female Wage ◽  
Urban Labor ◽  
Women's Labor Force Participation ◽  
Urban Labor Market

This paper estimates the gender wage gap and its composition in China’s urban labor market. The traditional Blinder–Oaxaca (1973) decomposition method with different weighing systems is employed. To correct for potential selection bias caused by women’s labor force participation, we employ the Heckman’s two-step procedure to estimate the female wage function. A large proportion of the gender wage gap is unexplained by differences of productive characteristics of individuals. Even though women have higher level of education attainments on average, they receive lower wages than men. Both facts suggest a potential discrimination against women in China.

Market and Institutional Determinants of Wage Differentiation in Russia

ILR Review ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 628-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
World Bank ◽  
Wage Inequality ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Wage Determination ◽  
Market Theory ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Competitive Labor Market

Using a range of official and survey data, the author evaluates the relative success of two approaches—competitive labor market theory and industrial relations theory/institutional economics—in explaining wage determination in Russia. Following a review of the analysis of wage determination by an influential team of World Bank economists, the author shows that increased wage inequality in Russia is dominated by inequality within occupational categories within local labor markets. Such inequality, he suggests, is primarily associated with inter-firm differences in wage levels, rather than barriers to labor mobility or differences in “human capital.” Such a pattern of differentiation entirely accords with the analyses of those institutional economists and industrial relations theorists who stress the role of the wage in regulating and motivating the labor force above its role in securing labor market equilibrium. The paper concludes by outlining the institutional framework of wage determination that underlies the observed results.

Interindustry Wage Differentials and the Gender Wage Gap

ILR Review ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Fields ◽  
Edward N. Wolff
Keyword(s):  
Population Survey ◽  
Wage Differentials ◽  
Gender Wage Gap ◽  
Wage Gap ◽  
Female Worker ◽  
Industry Effects ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Female Workers ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Using Data

Using data from the March 1988 Current Population Survey, the authors find that the wages of female workers differ significantly by industry, even when the analysis controls for workers' productivity-related characteristics. Although these interindustry wage differentials are at least as large as men's and are highly correlated with them as well, there are statistically significant differences between the two. Of the overall gender wage gap (the average female worker earns about 65% as much as the average male worker), 12–22% can be explained by differences between the patterns of interindustry wage differentials of men and women and 15–19% by differences in the distribution of male and female workers across industries. Thus, the combined industry effects explain about one-third of the overall gender wage gap.

scholarly journals Wage Bargaining in the Presence of Social Services and Transfers

2004 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabela Mares
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Wage Bargaining ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Wage Determination ◽  
Labor Market Institutions ◽  
National Differences ◽  
The Impact

OECD economies were able to reconcile the pursuit of welfare state expansion and full employment during the first decades of the postwar period. Yet the trade-off between these two policy objectives widened in recent decades. To explore the question ofwhy this change occurred, this article extends familiar models of wage determination by adding a number of parameters that capture cross-national differences among welfare states. The model identifies the conditions under which unions deliver wage moderation in exchange for social policy benefits and transfers and explores how different labor-market institutions magnify or decrease the impact of wage choices on the equilibrium level of employment. Next, the author examines the impact of changes in the composition of social policy expenditures and in the level of the tax burden on. unions' wage choices. She shows that mature welfare states, characterized by high tax burdens and a high share of transfers devoted to labor-market outsiders, reduce the effectiveness ofwage moderation in lowering unemployment. The author tests the main propositions using OECD panel data for the period 1960–95.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document