IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dul/wpaper/05-12rs.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Comparing apples with oranges: revisiting the gender wage gap in an international perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Plasman
  • Salimata Sissoko Ndeye

Abstract

Using a rich and comparable micro-data set, we analyse international differences in gender pay gaps in the private sector for a sample of five European economies: Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Italy and Spain. Using different methods, we examine how wage structure, differences in the distribution of measured characteristics, occupational segregation contribute to explain the pattern of international differences. Furthermore, we take into account indirect discrimination influencing female occupational distributions. We find significant impacts of those latter factors on gender differentials. However, the magnitude of their effects varies across countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Plasman & Salimata Sissoko Ndeye, 2005. "Comparing apples with oranges: revisiting the gender wage gap in an international perspective," DULBEA Working Papers 05-12.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:dul:wpaper:05-12rs
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/8048/1/rp-0146.pdf
    File Function: rp-0146
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brenda Gannon & Robert Plasman & Francois Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2007. "Inter-Industry Wage Differentials and the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from European Countries," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 38(1), pages 135-155.
    2. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, September.
    3. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1996. "Wage Structure and Gender Earnings Differentials: An International Comparison," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 63(250), pages 29-62, Suppl..
    4. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    5. Rowthorn, R E, 1992. "Centralisation, Employment and Wage Dispersion," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(412), pages 506-523, May.
    6. Michael P. Kidd & Michael Shannon, 1996. "Does the Level of Occupational Aggregation Affect Estimates of the Gender Wage Gap?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(2), pages 317-329, January.
    7. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1992. "The Gender Earnings Gap: Learning from International Comparisons," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 533-538, May.
    8. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    9. Bergmann, Barbara R, 1989. "Does the Market for Women's Labor Need Fixing?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 43-60, Winter.
    10. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    11. Schmidt, Peter & Strauss, Robert P, 1975. "The Prediction of Occupation Using Multiple Logit Models," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 16(2), pages 471-486, June.
    12. Randall S. Brown & Marilyn Moon & Barbara S. Zoloth, 1980. "Incorporating Occupational Attainment in Studies of Male-Female Earnings Differentials," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 15(1), pages 3-28.
    13. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M & Pierce, Brooks, 1993. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 410-442, June.
    14. Connelly, Rachel, 1992. "The Effect of Child Care Costs on Married Women's Labor Force Participation," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 74(1), pages 83-90, February.
    15. Suen, Wing, 1997. "Decomposing Wage Residuals: Unmeasured Skill or Statistical Artifact?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 555-566, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bernal, Oscar & Oosterlinck, Kim & Szafarz, Ariane, 2010. "Observing bailout expectations during a total eclipse of the sun," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1193-1205, November.
    2. Brenda Gannon & Robert Plasman & Francois Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2007. "Inter-Industry Wage Differentials and the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from European Countries," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 38(1), pages 135-155.
    3. Coral Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2010. "Gender Segregation in the Spanish Labor Market: An Alternative Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 337-362, September.
    4. Danièle Meulders & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2005. "Les inégalités salariales de genre : expliquer l'injustifiable ou justifier l'inexplicable," Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 95-107.
    5. Dorota Witkowska, 2013. "Gender Disparities in the Labor Market in the EU," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 19(4), pages 331-354, November.
    6. Coral del Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2008. "Occupational and industrial segregation of female and male workers in Spain: An alternative approach," Working Papers 84, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    7. Lin Xiu & Morley Gunderson, 2015. "Occupational segregation and the gender earnings gap in China: devils in the details," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(5), pages 711-732, August.
    8. Charles Plaigin, 2009. "Exploratory study on the presence of cultural and institutional growth spillovers," DULBEA Working Papers 09-03.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    9. Coral del Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2012. "Occupational Segregation of Immigrant Women in Spain," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 91-123, June.
    10. Campos-Soria, Juan Antonio & Ortega Aguaza, Bienvenido & Ropero-García, Miguel Ángel, 2010. "Diferentes patrones de segregación género y diferencia salarial entre hombres y mujeres en la hostelería/Different Patterns of Gender Segregation and Wage Gap Between Men and Women in Hospitality Sect," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 28, pages 197(30á)-19, Abril.
    11. Raquel Vale Mendes, 2009. "Gender wage differentials and occupational distribution," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 29, pages 26-40, June.
    12. Bianca Buligescu & Lex Borghans & Didier Fouarge, 2020. "The impact of occupational segregation on occupational gender pay gap in the European union," Journal of Community Positive Practices, Catalactica NGO, issue 4, pages 86-111.
    13. Pierre-Guillaume Méon & Ariane Szafarz, 2008. "Labor market discrimination as an agency cost," DULBEA Working Papers 08-19.RS, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    14. Carlos Gradín & Coral del Río, 2009. "Aspectos distributivos de las diferencias salariales por razón de género en España: un análisis por subgrupos poblacionales," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 189(2), pages 9-46, June.
    15. Maritza López-Novella & Salimata Sissoko, 2009. "Working Paper 12-09 - Salaires et négociation collective en Belgique : une analyse microéconomique en panel," Working Papers 0912, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Günalp, Burak & Cilasun, Seyit Mümin & Acar, Elif Öznur, 2013. "Male-Female Labor Market Participation and the Extent of Gender-Based Wage Discrimination in Turkey," MPRA Paper 51503, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Günalp, Burak & Cilasun, Seyit Mümin & Acar, Elif Öznur, 2013. "Male-Female Labor Market Participation and the Extent of Gender-Based Wage Discrimination in Turkey," MPRA Paper 51503, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Solomon W. Polachek & Jun Xiang, 2009. "The Gender Pay Gap across Countries: A Human Capital Approach," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 227, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    4. Karolina Goraus & Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas Velde, 2017. "Which Gender Wage Gap Estimates to Trust? A Comparative Analysis," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(1), pages 118-146, March.
    5. Töpfer, Marina, 2017. "Detailed RIF decomposition with selection: The gender pay gap in Italy," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 26-2017, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    6. Eric Solberg, 2004. "Occupational assignment, hiring discrimination, and the gender pay gap," Atlantic Economic Journal, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 32(1), pages 11-27, March.
    7. Nicodemo, Catia, 2009. "Gender Pay Gap and Quantile Regression in European Families," IZA Discussion Papers 3978, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2003. "Understanding International Differences in the Gender Pay Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 106-144, January.
    9. Andrén, Daniela & Andrén, Thomas, 2007. "Occupational Gender Composition and Wages in Romania: From Planned Equality to Market Inequality?," IZA Discussion Papers 3152, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Sile Padraigin O'Dorchai, 2008. "Do women gain or lose from becoming mothers?," Brussels Economic Review, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles, vol. 51(2/3), pages 243-268.
    11. Ezgi Kaya, 2023. "Gender wage gap trends in Europe: The role of occupational skill prices," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 162(3), pages 385-405, September.
    12. Töpfer, Marina, 2017. "Detailed RIF Decomposition with Selection - The Gender Pay Gap in Italy," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168422, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    13. Doris Weichselbaumer & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2007. "The effects of competition and equal treatment laws on gender wage differentials [‘Models of job discrimination’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 22(50), pages 236-287.
    14. Martina Zweimüller & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer & Doris Weichselbaumer, 2008. "Market Orientation and Gender Wage Gaps: an International Study," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 615-635, November.
    15. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    16. Usamah Fayez Al-Farhan, 2010. "Changes in the Gender Wage Gap in Germany during a Period of Rising Wage Inequality 1999-2006: Was it Discrimination in the Returns to Human Capital?," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 293, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    17. Melanie Jones & Ezgi Kaya, 2022. "The gender pay gap: what can we learn from Northern Ireland? [Women’s labour market participation in Northern Ireland: a re-examination of the ‘traditionalism’ argument]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(1), pages 94-114.
    18. Muhammad Asali, 2008. "Wage Differentials in Israel: Endowments, Occupational Segregation, Discrimination, and Selectivity," Working Papers 011-08, International School of Economics at TSU, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
    19. Jacqueline Mosomi, 2019. "Distributional changes in the gender wage gap in the post-apartheid South African labour market," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2019-17, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    20. Fortin, Nicole & Lemieux, Thomas & Firpo, Sergio, 2011. "Decomposition Methods in Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 1, pages 1-102, Elsevier.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender wage gap; wage structure; occupational segregation; discrimination;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dul:wpaper:05-12rs. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Benoit Pauwels (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dulbebe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.