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The emergence of the motherhood premium: recent trends in the motherhood wage gap across the wage distribution

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  • Eunhye Kwak

    (Korea Labor Institute)

Abstract

This paper estimates recent trends in the motherhood wage gap (MWG) across the female wage distribution and explores several drivers of the trend. The result shows that the large convergence of the MWG observed on average is a high-quantile phenomenon. Maternal relative wages sharply increase at the upper wage quantiles in the mid-1990s, leading to a reversed MWG (motherhood premium) since the mid-2000s. This positive selection into motherhood among high-wage women comes from mothers who live with a husband, who have first births in their late ages, and who work for long hours. The MWG has narrowed over time with widening wage dispersion among mothers, and the MWG trend is associated with changing fertility patterns and high-wage mothers’ working hours.

Suggested Citation

  • Eunhye Kwak, 2022. "The emergence of the motherhood premium: recent trends in the motherhood wage gap across the wage distribution," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1323-1343, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:20:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s11150-021-09594-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-021-09594-3
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Motherhood wage gap; Motherhood premium; Unconditional quantile regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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