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Men's wage inequality in Serbia's transition

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  • Kecmanovic, Milica

Abstract

Wage inequality is considered to have been quite compressed in socialist economies. In this paper I analyse how men's wage inequality has changed during the period of transition to a market economy in Serbia, a country which has experienced a particularly dramatic transition. Changes in the distribution of earnings are examined using the Lemieux (2002) decomposition methodology and five annual Labour Force Surveys (2001–2005). I find that the change in wage inequality is mostly driven by changes in wage premiums, while the effect of changes in the composition of the labour force is very small. Isolating the effect of the emerging private sector reveals that changes in the private sector size and wage premium account for an average 25 per cent of the changes in inequality during this period. Moreover, the minimum wage is found to exert a dampening effect on wage inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Kecmanovic, Milica, 2012. "Men's wage inequality in Serbia's transition," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 65-86.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:36:y:2012:i:1:p:65-86
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecosys.2011.04.007
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    1. Horie, Norio & Iwasaki, Ichiro & 岩﨑, 一郎, 2022. "Returns to Education in European Emerging Markets: A Meta-Analytic Review," RRC Working Paper Series 95, Russian Research Center, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    2. Kumo, Kazuhiro, 2015. "Research on Poverty in Transition Economies: A Meta-analysis on Changes in the Determinants of Poverty," RRC Working Paper Series 51, Russian Research Center, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    3. Noja Gratiela Georgiana & Caran Margareta, 2015. "Post-Employment Benefits In Romania And Serbia: A Comparative Impact Analysis," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 237-246, December.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D3 - Microeconomics - - Distribution
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies

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