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The trend over time of the gender wage gap in Italy

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  • Chiara Mussida
  • Matteo Picchio

Abstract

We analyse gender wage gaps in Italy in the mid-1990s and in the mid-2000s. In this period, important labour market developments took place and they could have had a gender asymmetric impact on wages. We identify the time trends of different components of the gender wage gap across all the wage distribution. Although the unconditional gender wage gap remained roughly constant over time, we find that the component of the gap due to different rewards of similar characteristics deteriorated women’s relative wage. We show that especially women at the centre-top of the wage distribution swam against the tide: while the trend in female qualifications slightly reduced the gender wage gap, the gender-relative trends in the wage structure significantly increased it. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

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  • Chiara Mussida & Matteo Picchio, 2014. "The trend over time of the gender wage gap in Italy," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 46(3), pages 1081-1110, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:46:y:2014:i:3:p:1081-1110
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-013-0710-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniela Piazzalunga & Maria Laura Di Tommaso, 2019. "The increase of the gender wage gap in Italy during the 2008-2012 economic crisis," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(2), pages 171-193, June.
    2. Chiara Mussida & Matteo Picchio, 2014. "The gender wage gap by education in Italy," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(1), pages 117-147, March.
    3. Ainaa, Carmen & Brunetti, Irene & Mussida, Chiara & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Who lost the most? Distributive effects of COVID-19 pandemic," GLO Discussion Paper Series 829, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Antonio Abatemarco & Maria Russolillo, 2023. "The Dynamics of the Gender Gap at Retirement in Italy: Evidence from SHARE," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 9(2), pages 445-473, July.
    5. Ayal Kimhi & Nirit Hanuka-Taflia, 2019. "What drives the convergence in male and female wage distributions in Israel? A Shapley decomposition approach," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(3), pages 379-399, September.
    6. Sergio Destefanis & Fernanda Mazzotta & Lavinia Parisi, 2024. "Goldin’s Last Chapter on the Gender Pay Gap: An Exploratory Analysis Using Italian Data," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 38(2), pages 549-572, April.
    7. Chiara Mussida, 2015. "L?impatto dell?istruzione sui salari per genere in Italia / Appendice Statistica," ECONOMIA E SOCIET? REGIONALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(2), pages 94-113.
    8. Giulia Mancini, 2018. "Women's Labor Force Participation in Italy, 1861-2011," Rivista di storia economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 3-68.
    9. Ricci, Chiara Assunta & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "The role of Great Recession on income polarization by population groups," GLO Discussion Paper Series 766, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Emanuela Ghignoni & Marilena Giannetti & Vincenzo Salvucci, 2022. "The double "discrimination" of foreign women: A matching comparisons approach," Working Papers in Public Economics 225, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender wage gap; Self-selection; Decompositions ; Hazard function; C41; J16; J31;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • 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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