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Gender gaps across countries and skills: Demand, supply and the industry structure

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  • Claudia Olivetti

    (Boston University)

  • Barbara Petrongolo

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

The comovement of gender gaps in hours and wages across countries and skills reveals the presence of net demand forces shaping gender differences in labor market outcomes. This paper links the rich pattern of variation in gender gaps to the process of structural transformation. Based on a stylized, multi-sector equilibrium model, we illustrate that the gender bias in labor demand can be decomposed into measurable within- and between-industry components. Using comparable micro data across countries, we find that international differences in the industry structure explain more than eighty percent of the overall variation in labor demand between the U.S. and all other countries in our sample, and roughly one third of the overall cross-country variation in wage and hours gaps. (Copyright: Elsevier)

Suggested Citation

  • Claudia Olivetti & Barbara Petrongolo, 2014. "Gender gaps across countries and skills: Demand, supply and the industry structure," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(4), pages 842-859, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:red:issued:12-174
    DOI: 10.1016/j.red.2014.03.001
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender gaps; Skills; Demand and supply; Industry structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • 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

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