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Tracing the gender wage gap: Income differences between male and female university graduates in Germany

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  • Reimer, David
  • Schröder, Jette

Abstract

"The aim of this paper is to shed light on the causal mechanisms leading to the gender wage gap, drawing on neoclassical as well as sociological labor market theories. A unique dataset from the 2001/2002 Mannheim University Social Sciences Graduate Survey, which overcomes several limitations of standard population surveys when investigating the gender wage gap, is used for the empirical analysis. The sample is homogenous with respect to the measures normally used in income analyses - all of the respondents are university graduates, have a degree in the same field of study, and are observed at career entry. Furthermore, the dataset includes detailed measures of human capital, job search, and career attitudes, which are usually not included in standard population surveys. The results of a sequence of nested regression models show that none of these measures reduces the gender wage gap substantially: on the contrary, the introduction of variables capturing human capital even leads to a small increase in the gap. This indicates that the earnings differential between female and male graduates in the study would be even larger if women had the same human capital endowment as men. Considering that a wage gap of almost 7 percent remains even with the extensive set of variables in the analysis, there is some indication that female university graduates are facing wage discrimination on the German labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Reimer, David & Schröder, Jette, 2006. "Tracing the gender wage gap: Income differences between male and female university graduates in Germany," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 39(2), pages 235-253.
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabzaf:v:39:i:2:p:235-253
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    2. Thomas Bolli & Katherine Caves & Maria Esther Oswald-Egg, 2021. "Valuable Experience: How University Internships Affect Graduates’ Income," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(8), pages 1198-1247, December.
    3. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde & Irene van Staveren, 2018. "Does Age Exacerbate the Gender-Wage Gap? New Method and Evidence From Germany, 1984–2014," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 108-130, October.
    4. Shushanik Margaryan & Nils Saniter & Mathias Schumann & Thomas Siedler, 2022. "Do Internships Pay Off? The Effects of Student Internships on Earnings," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(4), pages 1242-1275.
    5. Homolkova, Katerina & Niebuhr, Annekatrin & Rienen, Viola van, 2016. "Arbeitsmarkteintritt der Studierenden der Fachhochschule Kiel : Analyse des Erwerbseintritts, der Mobilität und der frühen Erwerbsphase der Studierenden der Fachhochschule Kiel im Zeitraum 2005 - 2014," IAB-Regional. Berichte und Analysen aus dem Regionalen Forschungsnetz. IAB Nord 201607, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    6. Schwerdt, Guido & Woessmann, Ludger, 2017. "The information value of central school exams," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 65-79.
    7. Otto, Anne & Neu, Nathalie & Schieler, Manuel & Wydra-Somaggio, Gabriele, 2014. "Gender Pay Gap beim Berufseinstieg von Hochschulabsolventen," IAB-Regional. Berichte und Analysen aus dem Regionalen Forschungsnetz. IAB Rheinland-Pfalz-Saarland 201403, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    8. Paul David Boll & Lukas Mergele & Larissa Zierow, 2022. "The gender pay gap in university student employment," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 2253-2313, October.
    9. Thomas Bolli & Katherine Caves & Maria Esther Oswald-Egg, 2019. "Valuable experience: How internships affect university graduates’ income," KOF Working papers 19-459, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
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    11. Somasree Poddar & Ishita Mukhopadhyay, 2019. "Gender Wage Gap: Some Recent Evidences from India," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 17(1), pages 121-151, March.

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