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Performance Pay and the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Spain

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  • Dolado, Juan J
  • Vegas, Raquel
  • de la Rica, Sara

Abstract

This paper uses detailed information from a large wage survey in 2006 to analyze the gender wage gap in the performance-pay (PP) component of total hourly wages and its contribution to the overall gender gap in Spain. Under the assumption that PP is determined in a more competitive fashion than the other wage components, one would expect, in principle, to find a low gender gap in PP. However, this is not what we find. After controlling for observable differences in individual and job characteristics as well as for non random selection, the adjusted gender gap in PP reaches 26 log points, displaying a "glass ceiling" pattern. After examining several alternative theories that could rationalize these findings, we conjecture that monopsonistic features, possibly related to women´s lower labour mobility due to housework, fit better with our results than other theories related to occupational segregation.

Suggested Citation

  • Dolado, Juan J & Vegas, Raquel & de la Rica, Sara, 2010. "Performance Pay and the Gender Wage Gap: Evidence from Spain," CEPR Discussion Papers 7936, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7936
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    1. Buenas y malas prácticas en la negociación colectiva
      by Florentino Felgueroso in Nada Es Gratis on 2011-03-16 13:13:54

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    Cited by:

    1. Gnesi, Chiara & De Santis, Stefano & Cardinaleschi, Stefania, 2016. "The Gender Pay Gap in Italy: Some Evidence on the Role of Decentralized Collective Bargaining /La brecha salarial de género en Italia: Algunas evidencias sobre el papel de la negociación colectiva des," Estudios de Economia Aplicada, Estudios de Economia Aplicada, vol. 34, pages 109-132, Enero.
    2. Nezih Guner & Ezgi Kaya & Virginia Sánchez-Marcos, 2014. "Gender gaps in Spain: policies and outcomes over the last three decades," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 5(1), pages 61-103, March.
    3. Chiang, Hui-Yu & Ohtake, Fumio, 2014. "Performance-pay and the gender wage gap in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 71-88.
    4. Thisse, Jacques-François & Toulemonde, Eric, 2010. "The Distribution of Earnings under Monopsonistic/polistic Competition," IZA Discussion Papers 5136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(5), pages 1306-1355.
    6. K. Sommerfeld, 2013. "Higher and higher? Performance pay and wage inequality in Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(30), pages 4236-4247, October.
    7. Fitzenberger Bernd & Sommerfeld Katrin, 2016. "A Sequential Decomposition of the Drop in Collective Bargaining Coverage," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(1), pages 37-69, February.
    8. Inés P. Murillo & Hipólito Simón, 2014. "La Gran Recesión y el diferencial salarial por género en España," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 208(1), pages 39-76, March.
    9. Sara De La Rica & Juan J. Dolado & Raquel Vegas, 2015. "Gender Gaps in Performance Pay : New Evidence from Spain," Annals of Economics and Statistics, GENES, issue 117-118, pages 41-59.
    10. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/3t1fcs7p369jmaalnboqhpgknn is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Richard Fabling & Arthur Grimes & David C. Maré, 2012. "Performance Pay Systems and the Gender Wage Gap," Working Papers 12_13, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    12. Matano, Alessia & Naticchioni, Paolo, 2013. "Rent sharing as a driver of the glass ceiling effect," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 55-59.
    13. Brindusa Anghel & J. Ignacio Conde-Ruiz & Ignacio Marra de Artíñano, 2019. "Brechas Salariales de Género en España," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 229(2), pages 87-119, June.
    14. Juho Jokinen & Jaakko Pehkonen, 2017. "Promotions and Earnings – Gender or Merit? Evidence from Longitudinal Personnel Data," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 306-334, September.
    15. John S. Heywood & Daniel Parent, 2017. "Performance Pay, the Gender Gap, and Specialization within Marriage," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 387-427, December.
    16. Juin-jen Chang & Chia-ying Liu & Hsiao-wen Hung, 2013. "Does Performance-Based Compensation Boost Economic Growth or Lead to More Income Inequality?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 89(284), pages 72-82, March.
    17. Mari Kangasniemi & Antti Kauhanen, 2013. "Performance-related pay and gender wage differences," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(36), pages 5131-5143, December.
    18. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 125(5), pages 1306-1355.
    19. Dueñas, Diego & Iglesias, Carlos & Llorente, Raquel, 2014. "Do services reduce gender inequality in labor markets? The service sector, knnowledge-intensive services and the gender pay gap," MPRA Paper 61628, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Aleksandra Matuszewska-Janica, 2018. "Men and Women Wage Differences in Spain and Poland," Montenegrin Journal of Economics, Economic Laboratory for Transition Research (ELIT), vol. 14(1), pages 45-52.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Performance pay; Gender gaps; Selection bias; Quantile regressions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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