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What Determines Wage Inequality Among Young German University Graduates?

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  • Braakmann Nils

    (Newcastle University, Business School – Economics, 5 Barrack Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4SE, United Kingdom)

Abstract

This paper investigates the gender wage gap among university graduates in their first job and five to six years into their careers using a representative survey among German university graduates. Results from standard decomposition techniques show that up to 83%of an initial 24% earnings disadvantage for women in the first job can be attributed to differences in endowments that are fixed at the time of labor market entry. Of these, fields of study play a dominant role and explain up to 70%of the earnings differential. Adding employer characteristics raises the explained part of the differential to 96%. The importance of unexplained factors increases after five to six years where 40% of the earnings gap remain unexplained even when controlling for detailed experience and employer characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • Braakmann Nils, 2013. "What Determines Wage Inequality Among Young German University Graduates?," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 233(2), pages 130-158, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:jns:jbstat:v:233:y:2013:i:2:p:130-158
    DOI: 10.1515/jbnst-2013-0202
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    Cited by:

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    2. Fabian Ochsenfeld, 2017. "The gender income gap and the role of family formation revisited [Ein zweiter Blick auf die Bedeutung der Familiengründung für das Zustandekommen geschlechtsspezifischer Einkommensungleichheit]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 50(1), pages 131-141, August.
    3. Ochsenfeld, Fabian, 2017. "The gender income gap and the role of family formation revisited : A replication of Bobbitt-Zeher (2007)," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 50(1), pages 131-141.
    4. Doris Weichselbaumer & Juliane Ransmayr, 2022. "The role of sex segregation in the gender wage gap among university graduates in Germany," Economics working papers 2022-12, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    5. Claudia Roethlisberger & Franziska Gassmann & Wim Groot & Bruno Martorano, 2023. "The contribution of personality traits and social norms to the gender pay gap: A systematic literature review," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 377-408, April.
    6. Ochsenfeld, Fabian, 2017. "The gender income gap and the role of family formation revisited : A replication of Bobbitt-Zeher (2007)," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 50(1), pages 131-141.

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