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Tasks and the gender wage gap in urban China, 2002 –2023

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  • Ma, Xinxin
  • Han, Jiachen
  • Li, Shi

Abstract

This study uses national survey data from the Chinese Household Income Project for 2002, 2013, and 2023 to examine the influence of task-based factors on the gender wage gap (GWG) in urban China in 2002–2023. We construct multi-period indicators of non-routine task intensity and employ decomposition methods to explore two channels through which tasks influence the GWG. The results indicate that the wage premium for non-routine tasks was higher for women than for men during the period 2002–2023, and several robustness checks support this conclusion. The gender differences in the non-routine task wage premium vary by age and education group, and across the wage distribution. The decomposition results suggest that gender disparities in wage premiums for non-routine tasks (the price effect) contributed to narrowing the GWG in all three sample periods, although the magnitude of this effect declined from 2002 to 2023. By contrast, gender differences in the allocation of non-routine tasks (the endowment effect) widened the GWG in 2002 and 2023, while narrowed it in 2013. Additionally, both the endowment and price effects on the GWG differ across wage distributions in each period.

Suggested Citation

  • Ma, Xinxin & Han, Jiachen & Li, Shi, 2026. "Tasks and the gender wage gap in urban China, 2002 –2023," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:99:y:2026:i:c:s1043951x26000908
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2026.102740
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    Keywords

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    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
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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