IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ctl/louvir/2011031.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Trend over Time of the Gender Wage Gap in Italy

Author

Listed:
  • Chiara MUSSIDA

    (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, Italy)

  • Matteo PICCHIO

    (Department of Economics, CentER, ReflecT, Tilburg University, The Netherlands and IZA, Germany)

Abstract

We analyse gender wage inequalities in Italy in the mid-1990s and in the mid-2000s. In this period important labour market developments occurred: institutional changes have loosened the use of flexible and atypical contracts; the female employment rates and educational levels have substantially increased. We identify the time trends of different components of the gender wage gap by estimating wage distributions in the presence of covariates and sample selection and by counterfactual microsimulations. We find that women swam against the tide: whilst the trend in female qualifications slightly reduced the gender wage gap, the gender relative trends in the wage structure significantly increased it.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara MUSSIDA & Matteo PICCHIO, 2011. "The Trend over Time of the Gender Wage Gap in Italy," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2011031, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvir:2011031
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://sites.uclouvain.be/econ/DP/IRES/2011031.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Picchio, Matteo & Mussida, Chiara, 2011. "Gender wage gap: A semi-parametric approach with sample selection correction," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 564-578, October.
    2. DiNardo, John & Fortin, Nicole M & Lemieux, Thomas, 1996. "Labor Market Institutions and the Distribution of Wages, 1973-1992: A Semiparametric Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(5), pages 1001-1044, September.
    3. Van den Berg, G J & Lindeboom, M & Ridder, G, 1994. "Attrition in Longitudinal Panel Data and the Empirical Analysis of Dynamic Labour Market Behaviour," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(4), pages 421-435, Oct.-Dec..
    4. Richard Blundell & Amanda Gosling & Hidehiko Ichimura & Costas Meghir, 2007. "Changes in the Distribution of Male and Female Wages Accounting for Employment Composition Using Bounds," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(2), pages 323-363, March.
    5. Claudia Olivetti & Barbara Petrongolo, 2008. "Unequal Pay or Unequal Employment? A Cross-Country Analysis of Gender Gaps," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(4), pages 621-654, October.
    6. Tindara Addabbo & Donata Favaro & Stefano Magrini, 2007. "The Distribution of the Gender Wage Gap in Italy: Does Education Matter?," Center for Economic Research (RECent) 004, University of Modena and Reggio E., Dept. of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    7. Sciulli, Dario, 2006. "Making the italian labor market more flexible: an evaluation of the treu reform," UC3M Working papers. Economics we063408, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía.
    8. Edward P. Lazear, 1990. "Job Security Provisions and Employment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(3), pages 699-726.
    9. Kugler, Adriana & Pica, Giovanni, 2008. "Effects of employment protection on worker and job flows: Evidence from the 1990 Italian reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 78-95, February.
    10. Tito Boeri & Pietro Garibaldi, 2007. "Two Tier Reforms of Employment Protection: a Honeymoon Effect?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(521), pages 357-385, June.
    11. Stephen G. Donald & David A. Green & Harry J. Paarsch, 2000. "Differences in Wage Distributions Between Canada and the United States: An Application of a Flexible Estimator of Distribution Functions in the Presence of Covariates," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 67(4), pages 609-633.
    12. Muriel Niederle & Lise Vesterlund, 2007. "Do Women Shy Away From Competition? Do Men Compete Too Much?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1067-1101.
    13. Nicole M. Fortin & Thomas Lemieux, 1998. "Rank Regressions, Wage Distributions, and the Gender Gap," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 33(3), pages 610-643.
    14. José Mata & José A. F. Machado, 2005. "Counterfactual decomposition of changes in wage distributions using quantile regression," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 445-465.
    15. Bart Cockx & Matteo Picchio, 2012. "Are Short-lived Jobs Stepping Stones to Long-Lasting Jobs?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(5), pages 646-675, October.
    16. Albrecht, James & van Vuuren, Aico & Vroman, Susan, 2009. "Counterfactual distributions with sample selection adjustments: Econometric theory and an application to the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 383-396, August.
    17. Tindara ADDABBO & Donata Favaro, 2007. "Education and wage differentials by gender in Italy," CHILD Working Papers wp04_07, CHILD - Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic economics - ITALY.
    18. Gianna Barbieri & Paolo Sestito, 2008. "Temporary Workers in Italy: Who Are They and Where They End Up," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(1), pages 127-166, March.
    19. Mroz, Thomas A, 1987. "The Sensitivity of an Empirical Model of Married Women's Hours of Work to Economic and Statistical Assumptions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 55(4), pages 765-799, July.
    20. Cecilia Rouse & Claudia Goldin, 2000. "Orchestrating Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female Musicians," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(4), pages 715-741, September.
    21. Arnaud Chevalier, 2007. "Education, Occupation and Career Expectations: Determinants of the Gender Pay Gap for UK Graduates," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(6), pages 819-842, December.
    22. Heckman, James & Singer, Burton, 1984. "A Method for Minimizing the Impact of Distributional Assumptions in Econometric Models for Duration Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(2), pages 271-320, March.
    23. Gerard J. van den Berg & Maarten Lindeboom, 1998. "Attrition in Panel Survey Data and the Estimation of Multi-State Labor Market Models," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 33(2), pages 458-478.
    24. Tindara Addabbo & Donata Favaro & Stefano Magrini, 2012. "Gender differences in productivity rewards: the role of human capital," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 59(1), pages 81-110, March.
    25. Mr. Martin Schindler, 2009. "The Italian Labor Market: Recent Trends, Institutions, and Reform Options," IMF Working Papers 2009/047, International Monetary Fund.
    26. Tindara Addabbo & Donata Favaro, 2011. "Gender wage differentials by education in Italy," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(29), pages 4589-4605.
    27. Kugler, Adriana D. & Pica, Giovanni, 2005. "Effects of Employment Protection on Worker and Job Flows: Evidence from the 1990 Italian Reform," CEPR Discussion Papers 5256, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    28. Casey B. Mulligan & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Selection, Investment, and Women's Relative Wages Over Time," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 1061-1110.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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).
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    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).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Picchio, Matteo & Mussida, Chiara, 2011. "Gender wage gap: A semi-parametric approach with sample selection correction," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 564-578, October.
    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. Chi, Wei & Li, Bo, 2014. "Trends in China’s gender employment and pay gap: Estimating gender pay gaps with employment selection," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 708-725.
    4. Manuel Arellano & Stéphane Bonhomme, 2017. "Quantile Selection Models With an Application to Understanding Changes in Wage Inequality," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 85, pages 1-28, January.
    5. Fortin, Nicole & Lemieux, Thomas & Firpo, Sergio, 2011. "Decomposition Methods in Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 1, pages 1-102, Elsevier.
    6. Biewen, Martin & Fitzenberger, Bernd & Seckler, Matthias, 2020. "Counterfactual quantile decompositions with selection correction taking into account Huber/Melly (2015): An application to the German gender wage gap," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    7. Lawrence M. Kahn, 2012. "Labor market policy: A comparative view on the costs and benefits of labor market flexibility," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 94-110, December.
    8. Karolina Goraus & Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas Velde, 2017. "Which Gender Wage Gap Estimates to Trust? A Comparative Analysis," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(1), pages 118-146, March.
    9. Bargain, Olivier & Doorley, Karina & Van Kerm, Philippe, 2018. "Minimum Wages and the Gender Gap in Pay: New Evidence from the UK and Ireland," IZA Discussion Papers 11502, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde & Irene van Staveren, 2015. "Differences in the Estimates of Gender Wage Gap Over The Life Cycle," Working Papers 2015-29, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    11. Philippe Van Kerm, 2013. "Generalized measures of wage differentials," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 465-482, August.
    12. Marina Bonaccolto-Töpfer & Carolina Castagnetti & Luisa Rosti, 2023. "Changes in the gender pay gap over time: the case of West Germany," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 57(1), pages 1-17, December.
    13. 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.
    14. Karolina Goraus & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2013. "The Goodwill Effect? Female Access to the Labor Market Over Transition: A Multicountry Analysis," Working Papers 2013-19, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.
    15. Landmesser Joanna Małgorzata, 2020. "Differences in the Income Distribution of Households Run by Men and Women by Voivodeships," Folia Oeconomica Stetinensia, Sciendo, vol. 20(1), pages 248-265, June.
    16. Patricia Gallego Granados, 2019. "The Part-Time Wage Gap across the Wage Distribution," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1791, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    17. Maasoumi, Esfandiar & Wang, Le, 2017. "What can we learn about the racial gap in the presence of sample selection?," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 199(2), pages 117-130.
    18. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas van der Velde, 2017. "When the opportunity knocks: large structural shocks and gender wage gaps," GRAPE Working Papers 2, GRAPE Group for Research in Applied Economics.
    19. Töpfer, Marina, 2017. "Detailed RIF decomposition with selection: The gender pay gap in Italy," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 26-2017, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    20. Clément Bosquet & Pierre‐Philippe Combes & Cecilia García‐Peñalosa, 2019. "Gender and Promotions: Evidence from Academic Economists in France," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 121(3), pages 1020-1053, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender wage gap; counterfactual distributions; decompositions; hazard function; labour market reforms;
    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

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ctl:louvir:2011031. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Virginie LEBLANC (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iruclbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.