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The measurement of gender wage discrimination: the distributional approach revisited

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  • Coral Río
  • Carlos Gradín
  • Olga Cantó

Abstract

This paper presents the advantages of taking into account the distribution of the individual wage gap when analyzing female wage discrimination. The limitations of previous approaches such as the classic Oaxaca-Blinder and the recent distributive proposals using quantile regressions or counterfactual functions are thoroughly discussed. The new methodology presented here relies on Jenkins' (1994) work and proposes the use of poverty and deprivation literature techniques that are directly applicable to the measurement of discrimination. In an empirical application, we quantify the relevance of the glass ceiling and sticky floor phenomena in the Spanish labor market.
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(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Coral Río & Carlos Gradín & Olga Cantó, 2011. "The measurement of gender wage discrimination: the distributional approach revisited," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 9(1), pages 57-86, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jecinq:v:9:y:2011:i:1:p:57-86
    DOI: 10.1007/s10888-010-9130-7
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage discrimination; Distributive analysis; Economics of gender; Glass ceiling; Sticky floor;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • 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

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