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An empirical analysis of the gender earnings gap between the public and private sectors in Korea: A comparative study with the US

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  • Cho, Donghun
  • Cho, Joonmo
  • Song, Bohwa

Abstract

This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the gender earnings gap in the public and private sectors by comparing the cases in Korea with those in the US. Using comparable data sets by the Panel Study of Income Dynamics for the US and the Korean Income Panel Study for Korea, this study decomposes the gender earnings gap in order to identify the causal factors. One of the main factors attributable to a much lower gender earnings gap found in the Korean public sector is the self-selection by female workers with high levels of human capital who decide to enter the public sector. Another factor is the differing levels of efforts made by institutions, in areas such as wage structure, the enforcement of gender equality related laws, and the provision of paid family leave, which may affect differently the gender earnings gap in the public and private sector jobs. The empirical results of this study suggest that the differing levels of institutional efforts lower the gender earnings gap within the Korean public sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Cho, Donghun & Cho, Joonmo & Song, Bohwa, 2010. "An empirical analysis of the gender earnings gap between the public and private sectors in Korea: A comparative study with the US," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 441-456, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jjieco:v:24:y:2010:i:3:p:441-456
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Chiang, Hui-Yu & Ohtake, Fumio, 2014. "Performance-pay and the gender wage gap in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 71-88.
    2. Hanna Jung & Joonmo Cho, 2016. "Quality of Jobs for Female Workers: A Comparative Study of South Korea and Australia," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, March.
    3. Up Lim & Ye Choi & Heonyoung Lee, 2015. "Occupational skills and the gender wage gap in Seoul, Korea: a multilevel approach," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 55(2), pages 335-356, December.
    4. GholamReza Haddad, 2015. "Gender ratio, divorce rate, and intra-household collective decision process: evidence from iranian urban households labor supply with non-participation," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(4), pages 1365-1394, June.
    5. Cho, Joonmo & Lee, Tai & Jung, Hanna, 2014. "Glass ceiling in a stratified labor market: Evidence from Korea," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 56-70.
    6. Tromp, Nikolas, 2016. "Decomposing the Gender Wage Gap Across the Wage Distribution: South Korea in 2003 vs. 2013," MPRA Paper 75123, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 Nov 2016.
    7. Joonmo Cho & Jaeseong Lee & Taehee Kwon, 2013. "Gender exclusion in social security protection: evidence from Korea," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, The Australian National University, vol. 27(1), pages 62-78, May.

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