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Labor Market Inequality and the Changing Life Cycle Profile of Male and Female Wages

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  • Richard Blundell
  • Hugo Lopez
  • James P. Ziliak

Abstract

We estimate the full distribution of life cycle wages for cohorts of men and women in the United States using a quantile selection model to account for systematic differences in employment by gender and education group. Although common within-group time effects are shown to be a key driver of labor market inequalities across gender, important additional differences by birth cohort emerge with more recent cohorts of women delaying child rearing and, by implication, the onset of child penalties in wages. These cross-cohort differences help account for the stalling of progress in gender wage gaps over the past quarter century.

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  • Richard Blundell & Hugo Lopez & James P. Ziliak, 2025. "Labor Market Inequality and the Changing Life Cycle Profile of Male and Female Wages," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 17(4), pages 100-133, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejapp:v:17:y:2025:i:4:p:100-133
    DOI: 10.1257/app.20220454
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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