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Market Forces and Sex Discrimination

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Author Info
Judith K. Hellerstein
David Neumark
Kenneth R. Troske

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Abstract

We report new evidence on the existence of sex discrimination in wages and whether competitive market forces act to reduce or eliminate discrimination. Specifically, we use plant- and firm-level data to examine the relationships between profitability, growth and ownership changes, product market power, and the sex composition of a plant's or firm's workforce. Our strongest finding is that among plants with high levels of product market power, those that employ relatively more women are more profitable. No such relationship exists for plants with apparently low levels of market power. This is consistent with sex discrimination in wages in the short run in markets where plants have product market power. We also examine evidence on the longer-run effects of market forces on discrimination, asking whether discriminatory employers with market power are punished over time through lower growth than non-discriminatory employers, or whether discriminatory employers are bought out by non-discriminators. We find little evidence that this occurs over a five-year period, as growth and ownership changes for plants with market power are generally not significantly related to the sex composition of a plant's workforce.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 6321.

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Date of creation: Dec 1997
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:6321

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Robert H Mcguckin & George A Pascoe, 1988. "The Longitudinal Research Database (LRD): Status And Research Possibilities," Working Papers 88-2, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  2. Ian Domowitz & R. Glenn Hubbard & Bruce C. Petersen, 1986. "Business Cycles and the Relationship Between Concentration and Price-Cost Margins," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(1), pages 1-17, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Goldberg, Matthew S, 1982. "Discrimination, Nepotism, and Long-Run Wage Differentials," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 97(2), pages 307-19, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Ashenfelter, Orley & Hannan, Timothy, 1986. "Sex Discrimination and Product Market Competition: The Case of the Banking Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 101(1), pages 149-73, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Kenneth R Troske, 1994. "Evidence on the Employer Size-Wage Premium From Worker-Establishment Matched Data," Working Papers 94-10, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Judith K. Hellerstein & David Neumark & Kenneth R. Troske, 1996. "Wages, Productivity, and Worker Characteristics: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions and Wage Equations," NBER Working Papers 5626, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Lazear, Edward P, 1979. "Why Is There Mandatory Retirement?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(6), pages 1261-84, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Ricardo J. Caballero & Eduardo M. R. A. Engel & John C. Haltiwanger, 1995. "Plant-Level Adjustment and Aggregate Investment Dynamics," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 26(1995-2), pages 1-54. [Downloadable!]
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Stanley R. Keil & Lee C. Spector, 2005. "The Impact of Wal-Mart on Employment Andwage Differentials in Alabama," Working Papers 200508, Ball State University, Department of Economics, revised Dec 2005. [Downloadable!]
  2. William C. Horrace & Beyza P. Ural & Jin Hwa Jung, 2006. "Inter-Industry Gender Wage Gaps by Knowledge Intensity: Discrimination and Technology in Korea," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 79, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Oostendorp, Remco, 2004. "Globalization and the gender wage gap," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3256, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  4. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2000. "Gender Differences in Pay," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(4), pages 75-99, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Judith Hellerstein & David Neumark, 2005. "Using Matched Employer-Employee Data to Study Labor Market Discrimination," IZA Discussion Papers 1555, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  6. Fernanda Rivas & Máximo Rossi, 2000. "Discriminación salarial en Uruguay (1991-1997)," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 0700, Department of Economics - dECON. [Downloadable!]
  7. Judith K. Hellerstein & David Neumark, 2002. "Ethnicity, Language, and Workplace Segregation: Evidence from a New Matched Employer-Employee Data Set," NBER Working Papers 9037, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Clive R. Belfield, 2005. "Workforce gender effects on firm performance and workers’ pay: evidence for the UK," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 37(8), pages 885-891, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Daiji Kawaguchi, 2004. "Male-Female Wage and Productivity Differentials: A Structural Approach Using Japanese Firm-Level Panel Data," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 303, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Barth, Erling & Bratsberg, Bernt & Naylor, Robin A. & Raaum, Oddbjørn, 2002. "Explaining Variations in Wage Curves: Theory and Evidence," Memorandum 03/2002, Oslo University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  11. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2001. "The Division of Spoils: Rent-Sharing and Discrimination in a Regulated Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 814-831, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Gunseli Berik & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Joseph E. Zveglich Jr., 2003. "Does Trade Promote Gender Wage Equity?: Evidence from East Asia," Economics Working Paper Archive 373, Levy Economics Institute, The. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  13. David Neumark & Wendy A. Stock, 2001. "The Effects of Race and Sex Discrimination Laws," NBER Working Papers 8215, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Black, Sandra & Brainerd, Elizabeth, 2002. "Importing Equality? The Impact of Globalization on Gender Discrimination," CEPR Discussion Papers 3532, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Sandra E. Black & Elizabeth Brainerd, 1999. "Importing equality? The effects of increased competition on the gender wage gap," Staff Reports 74, Federal Reserve Bank of New York. [Downloadable!]
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