IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecmode/v152y2025ics0264999325002974.html

Gender gap in working span, employment, and labor productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Peng, Qing
  • Yang, Haisheng
  • Li, Jie

Abstract

The sex-differential retirement age policy in China results in a shorter working span of 5–10 years for women than for men. Using a transferable utility model, we document that this gender gap negatively impacts employment and labor productivity. Delaying women’s retirement to 55–60 years would increase urban employment by 0.43–0.80 percentage points and improve labor productivity by 13%–22%. However, such reforms could disrupt young mothers’ careers, as grandmothers play an important role in childcare. Our counterfactual simulations show that if 10% of young mothers with two children quit their jobs, it could decrease aggregate output by 6.11%. Therefore, improving public childcare services is crucial to support the transition of postponing women’s retirement.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng, Qing & Yang, Haisheng & Li, Jie, 2025. "Gender gap in working span, employment, and labor productivity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:152:y:2025:i:c:s0264999325002974
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107302
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999325002974
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107302?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Eugene Choo & Aloysius Siow, 2006. "Who Marries Whom and Why," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(1), pages 175-201, February.
    2. Jonathan Gruber & Kevin Milligan & David A. Wise, 2009. "Social Security Programs and Retirement Around the World: The Relationship to Youth Employment, Introduction and Summary," NBER Working Papers 14647, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Pascal Belan & Pierre-Jean Messe & François-Charles Wolff, 2010. "Postponing retirement age and labor force participation: the role of family transfers," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 76(4), pages 347-370.
    4. Anders Stenberg & Xavier Luna & Olle Westerlund, 2012. "Can adult education delay retirement from the labour market?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(2), pages 677-696, January.
    5. Bottazzi, Renata & Jappelli, Tullio & Padula, Mario, 2006. "Retirement expectations, pension reforms, and their impact on private wealth accumulation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(12), pages 2187-2212, December.
    6. repec:wyi:journl:002164 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 2004. "When Will the Gender Gap in Retirement Income Narrow?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 71(1), pages 182-200, July.
    8. Anthony B. Atkinson & Alessandra Casarico & Sarah Voitchovsky, 2018. "Top incomes and the gender divide," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(2), pages 225-256, June.
    9. Margaret Maurer-Fazio & Rachel Connelly & Lan Chen & Lixin Tang, 2011. "Childcare, Eldercare, and Labor Force Participation of Married Women in Urban China, 1982–2000," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(2), pages 261-294.
    10. Pierre-André Chiappori & Bernard Salanié, 2016. "The Econometrics of Matching Models," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(3), pages 832-861, September.
    11. Chinhui Juhn & Kristin McCue, 2016. "Evolution of the Marriage Earnings Gap for Women," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 252-256, May.
    12. Lionel Fontagné & Gianluca Santoni, 2019. "Agglomeration economies and firm-level labor misallocation," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 251-272.
    13. 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.
    14. Syeda Tamkeen Fatima & Abdul Qayyum Khan, 2019. "Globalization and female labor force participation: The role of trading partners," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 365-390, April.
    15. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    16. Claudia Goldin, 2014. "A Grand Gender Convergence: Its Last Chapter," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(4), pages 1091-1119, April.
    17. Zhang, Linlin & Gu, Jiale & An, Yunbi, 2023. "The optimal delayed retirement age in aging China: Determination and impact analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    18. Pierre-André Chiappori & Bernard Salanié & Yoram Weiss, 2017. "Partner Choice, Investment in Children, and the Marital College Premium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2109-2167, August.
    19. Peter Kuhn & Kailing Shen, 2013. "Gender Discrimination in Job Ads: Evidence from China," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(1), pages 287-336.
    20. Mitchell, Olivia S & Fields, Gary S, 1984. "The Economics of Retirement Behavior," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(1), pages 84-105, January.
    21. Heise, Sebastian & Porzio, Tommaso, 2022. "Labor Misallocation Across Firms and Regions," CEPR Discussion Papers 17494, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    22. Liu, Jing & Xu, Shu, 2023. "Retirement policy, employment status, and gender pay gap in urban China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    23. Galasso, Vincenzo, 2008. "Postponing retirement: the political effect of aging," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(10-11), pages 2157-2169, October.
    24. James Albrecht & Anders Bjorklund & Susan Vroman, 2003. "Is There a Glass Ceiling in Sweden?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 145-177, January.
    25. Urvi Neelakantan & Yunhee Chang, 2010. "Gender Differences in Wealth at Retirement," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 362-367, May.
    26. Bauernschuster, Stefan & Schlotter, Martin, 2015. "Public child care and mothers' labor supply—Evidence from two quasi-experiments," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-16.
    27. Björn Gustafsson & Shi Li, 2000. "Economic transformation and the gender earnings gap in urban China," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 13(2), pages 305-329.
    28. David Card & Ana Rute Cardoso & Patrick Kline, 2016. "Bargaining, Sorting, and the Gender Wage Gap: Quantifying the Impact of Firms on the Relative Pay of Women," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(2), pages 633-686.
    29. Ujjaini Mukhopadhyay & Sarbajit Chaudhuri, 2013. "Economic liberalisation, gender wage inequality and welfare," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(8), pages 1214-1239, December.
    30. Claudia Goldin & Sari Pekkala Kerr & Claudia Olivetti & Erling Barth, 2017. "The Expanding Gender Earnings Gap: Evidence from the LEHD-2000 Census," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 110-114, May.
    31. Qiushi Feng & Wei-Jun Jean Yeung & Zhenglian Wang & Yi Zeng, 2019. "Age of Retirement and Human Capital in an Aging China, 2015–2050," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(1), pages 29-62, February.
    32. Eugene Choo & Aloysius Siow, 2006. "Estimating a marriage matching model with spillover effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(3), pages 463-490, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Fortin, Nicole M. & Bell, Brian & Böhm, Michael, 2017. "Top earnings inequality and the gender pay gap: Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 107-123.
    2. Cruz, Gabriel & Rau, Tomás, 2022. "The effects of equal pay laws on firm pay premiums: Evidence from Chile," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Mary Ann Bronson, 2018. "The Lifecycle Wage Growth of Men and Women: Explaining Gender Differences in Wage Trajectories," 2018 Meeting Papers 923, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Lee Kyeongah, 2022. "The gender wage gap: evidence from South Korea," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-36, January.
    5. Alessandra Casarico & Salvatore Lattanzio, 2024. "What Firms Do: Gender Inequality in Linked Employer-Employee Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 325-355.
    6. Amano-Patiño, N. & Baron, T. & Xiao, P., 2020. "Human Capital Accumulation, Equilibrium Wage-Setting and the Life-Cycle Gender Pay Gap," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2010, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    7. Deng, Yue & Zhou, Yuqian & Hu, Dezhuang, 2023. "Grandparental childcare and female labor market behaviors: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Grissom, Jason A. & Timmer, Jennifer D. & Nelson, Jennifer L. & Blissett, Richard S.L., 2021. "Unequal pay for equal work? Unpacking the gender gap in principal compensation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Masso, Jaan & Meriküll, Jaanika & Vahter, Priit, 2022. "The role of firms in the gender wage gap," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 454-473.
    10. Monica Costa Dias & Robert Joyce & Francesca Parodi, 2019. "The gender pay gap in the UK: children and experience in work," Carlo Alberto Notebooks 594, Collegio Carlo Alberto.
    11. Deng, Yue & Feng, Aiya & Hu, Dezhuang, 2025. "Gender earnings gap in Chinese firms: Can it be narrowed by industrial robots?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    12. Sarah Louise Jewell & Giovanni Razzu & Carl Singleton, 2020. "Who Works for Whom and the UK Gender Pay Gap," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 58(1), pages 50-81, March.
    13. Matthieu Bunel & Dominique Meurs & Élisabeth Tovar, 2024. "Moving apart: job-driven residential mobility and the gender pay gap Evidence from a large industrial firm," Working Papers hal-04461137, HAL.
    14. Cremer, Helmuth & Barigozzi, Francesca & Monfardini, Chiara, 2019. "The gender gap in informal child care: theory and some evidence from Italy," CEPR Discussion Papers 13782, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Barth, Erling & Kerr, Sari Pekkala & Olivetti, Claudia, 2021. "The dynamics of gender earnings differentials: Evidence from establishment data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    16. Elise Coudin & Sophie Maillard & Maxime To, 2018. "Family, firms and the gender wage gap in France," IFS Working Papers W18/01, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    17. Jay Euijung Lee, 2025. "Marriage and misallocation: evidence from 70 years of US history," CEP Discussion Papers dp2119, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    18. Frech, Maria & Maideu-Morera, Gerard, 2024. "The Hidden Demand for Flexibility: a Theory for Gendered Employment Dynamics," TSE Working Papers 24-1588, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    19. Holly Monti & Martha Stinson & Lori Zehr, 2020. "How Long Do Early Career Decisions Follow Women? The Impact of Employer History on the Gender Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 189-232, September.
    20. Keller, Wolfgang & Molina, Teresa & Olney, William W., 2023. "The gender gap among top business executives," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 270-286.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:ecmode:v:152:y:2025:i:c:s0264999325002974. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30411 .

    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.