IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wfo/wpaper/y2011i394.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Gender Pay Gap in Austria: Tamensi Movetur!

Author

Listed:
  • René Böheim

    (Austrian Institute of Economic Research)

  • Klemens Himpele
  • Helmut Mahringer

    (WIFO)

  • Christine Zulehner

Abstract

Policies to reduce the gender pay gap feature prominently on the political agenda and interventions in the labour market are frequently proposed, claiming a persistent wage gap. We examine the change of the gender wage gap in Austria between 2002 and 2007 with new data from administrative records and find that it declined from 24 percent in 2002 to 19 percent in 2007. We observe that women's improved educational attainments were partly offset by a shift in the demand for skilled workers that disadvantaged unskilled labour. The main determinant of this decline is however the improvement of women's relative position in unobserved characteristics.

Suggested Citation

  • René Böheim & Klemens Himpele & Helmut Mahringer & Christine Zulehner, 2011. "The Gender Pay Gap in Austria: Tamensi Movetur!," WIFO Working Papers 394, WIFO.
    • Handle: RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2011:i:394
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.wifo.ac.at/wwa/pubid/41667
    File Function: abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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;CES;MSH, vol. 22(50), pages 236-287.
    2. Antonczyk, Dirk & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2010. "Rising wage inequality, the decline of collective bargaining, and the gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 835-847, October.
    3. Doris Weichselbaumer & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer, 2005. "A Meta‐Analysis of the International Gender Wage Gap," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 479-511, July.
    4. Sandra E. Black & Alexandra Spitz-Oener, 2010. "Explaining Women's Success: Technological Change and the Skill Content of Women's Work," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(1), pages 187-194, February.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Muriel Niederle & Lise Vesterlund, 2007. "Do Women Shy Away From Competition? Do Men Compete Too Much?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1067-1101.
    8. Böheim, René & Hofer, Helmut & Zulehner, Christine, 2005. "Wage Differences Between Men and Women in Austria: Evidence from 1983 and 1997," IZA Discussion Papers 1554, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. 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.
    10. Wolfgang Pointner & Alfred Stiglbauer, 2010. "Changes in the Austrian structure of wages, 1996–2002: evidence from linked employer-employee data," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 37(2), pages 105-125, May.
    11. 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.
    12. Zweimuller, J & Winter-Ebmer, R, 1994. "Gender Wage Differentials in Private and Public Sector Jobs," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 7(3), pages 271-285, July.
    13. Josef Zweim�ller & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer & Rafael Lalive & Andreas Kuhn & Jean-Philippe Wuellrich & Oliver Ruf & Simon B�chi, 2009. "Austrian social security database," IEW - Working Papers 410, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
      • Josef Zweimüller & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer & Rafael Lalive & Andreas Kuhn & Jean-Philippe Wuellrich & Oliver Ruf & Simon Büchi, 2009. "Austrian Social Security Database," NRN working papers 2009-03, The Austrian Center for Labor Economics and the Analysis of the Welfare State, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    14. Wiji Arulampalam & Alison L. Booth & Mark L. Bryan, 2007. "Is There a Glass Ceiling over Europe? Exploring the Gender Pay Gap across the Wage Distribution," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 60(2), pages 163-186, January.
    15. Klaus Grünberger & Christine Zulehner, 2009. "Geschlechtsspezifische Lohnunterschiede in Österreich," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 82(2), pages 139-150, February.
    16. Astrid Kunze, 2008. "Gender wage gap studies: consistency and decomposition," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 63-76, August.
    17. Blau Francine D & Kahn Lawrence M, 2007. "The Gender Pay Gap," The Economists' Voice, De Gruyter, vol. 4(4), pages 1-6, June.
    18. 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.
    19. Bowles, Hannah Riley & Babcock, Linda & McGinn, Kathleen L., 2005. "Constraints and Triggers: Situational Mechanics of Gender in Negotiation," Working Paper Series rwp05-051, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    20. René Böheim & Helmut Hofer & Christine Zulehner, 2007. "Wage differences between Austrian men and women: semper idem?," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 213-229, July.
    21. Dora L. Costa & Matthew E. Kahn, 2008. "Learning from the Past," NBER Chapters, in: Heroes and Cowards: The Social Face of War, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Rachel Croson & Uri Gneezy, 2009. "Gender Differences in Preferences," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(2), pages 448-474, June.
    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. Christine Mayrhuber & Christian Glocker & Thomas Horvath, 2012. "Entwicklung und Verteilung der Einkommen. WIFO-Beitrag zum Sozialbericht 2012," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 45798, Juni.
    2. René Böheim & Klemens Himpele & Helmut Mahringer & Christine Zulehner, 2013. "The distribution of the gender wage gap in Austria: evidence from matched employer-employee data and tax records [Eine Auswertung von Steuer- und Sozialversicherungsdaten zur Untersuchung der Verte," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 46(1), pages 19-34, March.
    3. Paetzold, Jörg, 2019. "Do commuting subsidies increase commuting distances? Evidence from a Regression Kink Design," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 136-147.
    4. Christine Mayrhuber & Julia Bock-Schappelwein & Eva Rückert, 2012. "Neue soziale Risiken in Österreich im europäischen Vergleich," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 45118, Juni.

    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. René Böheim & Klemens Himpele & Helmut Mahringer & Christine Zulehner, 2013. "The distribution of the gender wage gap in Austria: evidence from matched employer-employee data and tax records [Eine Auswertung von Steuer- und Sozialversicherungsdaten zur Untersuchung der Verte," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 46(1), pages 19-34, March.
    2. René Böheim & Klemens Himpele & Helmut Mahringer & Christine Zulehner, 2013. "The gender wage gap in Austria: eppur si muove!," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 40(4), pages 585-606, November.
    3. Böheim, René & Himpele, Klemens & Mahringer, Helmut & Zulehner, Christine, 2013. "The distribution of the gender wage gap in Austria : evidence from matched employer-employee data and tax records," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 46(1), pages 19-34.
    4. René Böheim & Klemens Himpele & Helmut Mahringer & Christine Zulehner, 2013. "The distribution of the gender wage gap in Austria: evidence from matched employer-employee data and tax records [Eine Auswertung von Steuer- und Sozialversicherungsdaten zur Untersuchung der Verte," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 46(1), pages 19-34, March.
    5. René Böheim & Marian Fink & Christine Zulehner, 2021. "About time: the narrowing gender wage gap in Austria," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 803-843, November.
    6. 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).
    7. Inés P. Murillo & Hipólito Simón, 2014. "La Gran Recesión y el diferencial salarial por género en España," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 208(1), pages 39-76, March.
    8. Christl, Michael & Köppl-Turyna, Monika, 2017. "Gender wage gap and the role of skills: evidence from PIAAC dataset," GLO Discussion Paper Series 63, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    9. N. N., 2017. "WIFO-Monatsberichte, Heft 9/2017," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 90(9), September.
    10. 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.
    11. René Böheim & Marian Fink & Silvia Rocha-Akis & Christine Zulehner, 2017. "Die Entwicklung geschlechtsspezifischer Lohnunterschiede in Österreich," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 90(9), pages 713-725, September.
    12. Thomas Grandner & Dieter Gstach, 2015. "Decomposing wage discrimination in Germany and Austria with counterfactual densities," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 49-76, February.
    13. Thomas Grandner & Dieter Gstach, 2012. "Decomposing wage discrimination in Germany and Austria with counterfactual densities," Department of Economics Working Papers wuwp145, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Department of Economics.
    14. Grandner, Thomas & Gstach, Dieter, 2012. "Decomposing wage discrimination in Germany and Austria with counterfactual densities," Department of Economics Working Paper Series 145, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    15. Klaus Grünberger & Christine Zulehner, 2009. "Geschlechtsspezifische Lohnunterschiede in Österreich," WIFO Monatsberichte (monthly reports), WIFO, vol. 82(2), pages 139-150, February.
    16. René Böheim & Helmut Hofer & Christine Zulehner, 2007. "Wage differences between Austrian men and women: semper idem?," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 213-229, July.
    17. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde, 2017. "When the opportunity knocks: large structural shocks and gender wage gaps," GRAPE Working Papers 2, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    18. Grund, Christian, 2015. "Gender pay gaps among highly educated professionals — Compensation components do matter," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 118-126.
    19. Aleksandra Majchrowska & Paweł Strawiński & Karolina Konopczak & Agnieszka Skierska, 2014. "Why are women paid less than men? An investigation into gender wage gap in Poland," Working Papers 2014-31, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    20. Antonczyk, Dirk & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2010. "Rising wage inequality, the decline of collective bargaining, and the gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 835-847, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    decomposition; gender wage differentials; matched employer-employee data; wage inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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:wfo:wpaper:y:2011:i:394. 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: Florian Mayr (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/wifooat.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.