IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/iuiwop/0734.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Competition, Takeovers and Gender Discrimination

Author

Listed:
  • Heyman, Fredrik

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Svaleryd, Helena

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Vlachos, Jonas

    (Stockholm University)

Abstract

Theories of taste-based discrimination predict that competitive pressures will drive discriminatory behavior out of the market. Using detailed matched employer-employee data, we analyze how firm takeovers and product market competition are related to the gender composition of the firm’s workforce and the gender wage gap. Using a difference-in-difference framework and dealing with several endogeneity concerns, we find that the share of female employees increases as a result of an ownership change, in particular when product market competition is weak. Further, increased competition reduces the gender wage gap, especially among highly educated employees. While the estimated wage effect is quite small, the results support the main theoretical predictions.

Suggested Citation

  • Heyman, Fredrik & Svaleryd, Helena & Vlachos, Jonas, 2008. "Competition, Takeovers and Gender Discrimination," Working Paper Series 734, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:0734
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ifn.se/Wfiles/wp/wp734.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra E. Black & Elizabeth Brainerd, 2004. "Importing Equality? The Impact of Globalization on Gender Discrimination," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(4), pages 540-559, July.
    2. Nicholas Bloom & John Van Reenen, 2007. "Measuring and Explaining Management Practices Across Firms and Countries," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1351-1408.
    3. Francine D. Blau & Jed DeVaro, 2006. "New Evidence on Gender Differences in Promotion Rates: An Empirical Analysis of a Sample of New Hires," Working Papers 891, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    4. Martins, Pedro S., 2004. "Do Foreign Firms Really Pay Higher Wages? Evidence from Different Estimators," IZA Discussion Papers 1388, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    5. Heyman, Fredrik & Sjöholm, Fredrik & Gustavsson Tingvall, Patrik, 2006. "Acquisitions, Multinationals, and Wage Dispersion," EIJS Working Paper Series 222, Stockholm School of Economics, The European Institute of Japanese Studies.
    6. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    7. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1997. "Swimming Upstream: Trends in the Gender Wage Differential in 1980s," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 1-42, January.
    8. Jan Boone, 2008. "A New Way to Measure Competition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(531), pages 1245-1261, August.
    9. Marianne Bertrand & Dolly Chugh & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2005. "Implicit Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 94-98, May.
    10. Nekby, Lena, 2003. "Gender differences in rent sharing and its implications for the gender wage gap, evidence from Sweden," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 403-410, December.
    11. repec:pri:indrel:dsp01n009w2307 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Martina Zweimüller & Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer & Doris Weichselbaumer, 2008. "Market Orientation and Gender Wage Gaps: an International Study," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(4), pages 615-635, November.
    13. Olof Åslund & Oskar Nordströum Skans, 2012. "Do Anonymous Job Application Procedures Level the Playing Field?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(1), pages 82-107, January.
    14. Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers, 2006. "Bargaining in the Shadow of the Law: Divorce Laws and Family Distress," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 267-288.
    15. Boone, J., 2004. "A New Way to Measure Competition," Other publications TiSEM 961dc10b-580e-4d5e-9e9d-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    16. Bloom, Nicholas & Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Human Resource Management and Productivity," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 19, pages 1697-1767, Elsevier.
    17. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 1999. "Is There a Discretion in Wage Setting? A Test Using Takeover Legislation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 30(3), pages 535-554, Autumn.
    18. Boone, J. & van Ours, J.C. & van der Wiel, H.P., 2007. "How (Not) to Measure Competition," Discussion Paper 2007-32, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    19. Altonji, Joseph G. & Blank, Rebecca M., 1999. "Race and gender in the labor market," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 48, pages 3143-3259, Elsevier.
    20. Murphy, Kevin M & Topel, Robert H, 2002. "Estimation and Inference in Two-Step Econometric Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(1), pages 88-97, January.
    21. James Albrecht & Anders Bjorklund & Susan Vroman, 2003. "Is There a Glass Ceiling in Sweden?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 145-177, January.
    22. Erik Devos & Palani-Rajan Kadapakkam & Srinivasan Krishnamurthy, 2009. "How Do Mergers Create Value? A Comparison of Taxes, Market Power, and Efficiency Improvements as Explanations for Synergies," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1179-1211, March.
    23. Orley Ashenfelter & Timothy Hannan, 1986. "Sex Discrimination and Product Market Competition: The Case of the Banking Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(1), pages 149-173.
    24. Hellerstein, Judith K & Neumark, David & Troske, Kenneth R, 1999. "Wages, Productivity, and Worker Characteristics: Evidence from Plant-Level Production Functions and Wage Equations," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(3), pages 409-446, July.
    25. Judith K. Hellerstein & David Neumark & Kenneth R. Troske, 2002. "Market Forces and Sex Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(2), pages 353-380.
    26. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2003. "Enjoying the Quiet Life? Corporate Governance and Managerial Preferences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(5), pages 1043-1075, October.
    27. Boone, J. & van Ours, J.C. & van der Wiel, H.P., 2007. "How (Not) to Measure Competition," Discussion Paper 2007-32, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    28. Jan Boone, 2008. "A New Way to Measure Competition," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(531), pages 1245-1261, August.
    29. Andrews, Martyn J. & Schank, Thorsten & Upward, Richard, 2004. "Practical estimation methods for linked employer-employee data," Discussion Papers 29, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    30. James W. Hardin, 2002. "The robust variance estimator for two-stage models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 2(3), pages 253-266, August.
    31. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162, September.
    32. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3143-3259 is not listed on IDEAS
    33. O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), 1999. "Handbook of Labor Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 3, number 3.
    34. Martin J. Conyon & Sourafel Girma & Steve Thompson & Peter W. Wright, 2002. "The productivity and wage effects of foreign acquisition in the United Kingdom," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 85-102, March.
    35. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2001. "The Division of Spoils: Rent-Sharing and Discrimination in a Regulated Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 814-831, September.
    36. Nickell, Stephen J, 1996. "Competition and Corporate Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(4), pages 724-746, August.
    37. Phelps, Edmund S, 1972. "The Statistical Theory of Racism and Sexism," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(4), pages 659-661, September.
    38. Ragnhild Balsvik & Stefanie A. Haller, 2010. "Picking “Lemons” or Picking “Cherries”? Domestic and Foreign Acquisitions in Norwegian Manufacturing," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(2), pages 361-387, June.
    39. Meng, Xin, 2004. "Gender earnings gap: the role of firm specific effects," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 555-573, October.
    40. Boone, J., 2004. "A New Way to Measure Competition," Other publications TiSEM 1872e066-b7ba-4b53-949d-4, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    41. Jensen, Michael C, 1988. "Takeovers: Their Causes and Consequences," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 21-48, Winter.
    42. Barbosa, Natalia & Louri, Helen, 2002. "On the determinants of multinationals' ownership preferences: evidence from Greece and Portugal," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 493-515, April.
    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. Valentine Fays & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2021. "Wage discrimination based on the country of birth: do tenure and product market competition matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(13), pages 1551-1571, March.
    2. Wei-Bin ZHANG, 2014. "Gender Discrimination, Education and Economic Growth in a Generalized Uzawa-Lucas Two-Sector Model," Timisoara Journal of Economics and Business, West University of Timisoara, Romania, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 7(1), pages 1-34.
    3. Carlsson, Mikael & Messina, Julián & Nordström Skans, Oskar, 2014. "Firm-level shocks and labor adjustments," Working Paper Series 2014:28, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    4. Hirsch, Boris & Müller, Steffen, 2014. "Firm leadership and the gender pay gap: do active owners discriminate more than hired managers?," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 47(1-2), pages 129-142.
    5. Ghani,Syed Ejaz & Grover,Arti & Kerr,Sari & Kerr,William Robert, 2016. "Will market competition trump gender discrimination in India ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7814, The World Bank.
    6. Cortes, Patricia & Pan, Jessica, 2020. "Children and the Remaining Gender Gaps in the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 13759, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Iga Magda & Katarzyna Sa³ach, 2019. "Gender Pay Gap Patterns in Domestic and Foreign-Owned Firms," IBS Working Papers 05/2019, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    8. Halvarsson, Daniel & Lark, Olga & Gustavsson Tingvall, Patrik, 2022. "Foreign Ownership and Transferring of Gender Norms," Working Paper Series 1433, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    9. Halvarsson, Daniel & Lark, Olga & Gustavsson Tingvall, Patrik, 2022. "Foreign Ownership and Transferring of Gender Norms," Working Papers 2022:6, Lund University, Department of Economics.
    10. Fanfani, Bernardo, 2022. "Tastes for discrimination in monopsonistic labour markets," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Boris Hirsch & Michael Oberfichtner & Claus Schnabel, 2014. "The levelling effect of product market competition on gender wage discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Ben Yahmed, Sarra, 2023. "Gender wage discrimination with employer prejudice and trade openness," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    13. Chen, Yunsi & Hu, Dezhuang, 2023. "Why are exporters more gender-friendly? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    14. Nikulin, Dagmara & Wolszczak-Derlacz, Joanna, 2022. "GVC involvement and the gender wage gap: Micro-evidence on European countries," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 268-282.
    15. Cooke, Dudley & Fernandes, Ana P. & Ferreira, Priscila, 2019. "Product market competition and gender discrimination," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 496-522.
    16. Ruzzier, Christian A. & Woo, Marcelo D., 2023. "Discrimination with inaccurate beliefs and confirmation bias," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 379-390.
    17. Heyman, Fredrik & Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars, 2017. "Talent, Career Choice and Competition: The Gender Wage Gap at the Top," Working Paper Series 1169, Research Institute of Industrial Economics, revised 06 Mar 2023.
    18. Yahmed, Sarra Ben, 2017. "Gender wage discrimination and trade openness. Prejudiced employers in an open industry," ZEW Discussion Papers 17-047, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    19. Aparicio Fenoll, Ainoa, 2011. "The Effect of Product Market Competition on Job Instability," IZA Discussion Papers 5669, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Aparicio-Fenoll, Ainhoa, 2015. "The effect of product market competition on job security," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 145-159.
    21. Yana Gallen, 2018. "Motherhood and the Gender Productivity Gap," Working Papers 2018-091, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.

    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. Ghani,Syed Ejaz & Grover,Arti & Kerr,Sari & Kerr,William Robert, 2016. "Will market competition trump gender discrimination in India ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7814, The World Bank.
    2. Clémence Berson, 2016. "Local labor markets and taste-based discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 5(1), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov & Yona Rubinstein, 2008. "Racial Discrimination and Competition," NBER Working Papers 14273, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Siddique, Abu & Vlassopoulos, Michael & Zenou, Yves, 2023. "Market competition and discrimination," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Clémence Berson, 2012. "Does Competition Induce Hiring Equity ?," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00718627, HAL.
    6. Valentine Fays & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2021. "Wage discrimination based on the country of birth: do tenure and product market competition matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(13), pages 1551-1571, March.
    7. Magda, Iga & Salach, Katarzyna, 2019. "Gender Pay Gap Patterns in Domestic and Foreign-Owned Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 12453, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Morley Gunderson, 2006. "Viewpoint: Male‐female wage differentials: how can that be?," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(1), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    10. Iga Magda & Katarzyna Sałach, 2021. "Gender pay gaps in domestic and foreign-owned firms," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(4), pages 2237-2263, October.
    11. Sandra E. Black, 2005. "Female Progress and Discrimination. An Economic Perspective," Revue économique, Presses de Sciences-Po, vol. 56(2), pages 245-256.
    12. Cooke, Dudley & Fernandes, Ana P. & Ferreira, Priscila, 2019. "Product market competition and gender discrimination," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 496-522.
    13. Kawaguchi, Daiji, 2007. "A market test for sex discrimination: Evidence from Japanese firm-level panel data," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 441-460, June.
    14. Boris Hirsch & Steffen Mueller, 2014. "Firm leadership and the gender pay gap: do active owners discriminate more than hired managers?," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 47(1), pages 129-142, March.
    15. Ansari, Jugnu, 2012. "A New Measure of Competition in Indian Loan Market," MPRA Paper 50108, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Boris Hirsch & Michael Oberfichtner & Claus Schnabel, 2014. "The levelling effect of product market competition on gender wage discrimination," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Sandra E. Black & Elizabeth Brainerd, 2004. "Importing Equality? The Impact of Globalization on Gender Discrimination," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 57(4), pages 540-559, July.
    18. Hirata, Guilherme & Soares, Rodrigo R., 2016. "Competition and the Racial Wage Gap: Testing Becker's Model of Employer Discrimination," IZA Discussion Papers 9764, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Gagnon, Nickolas & Bosmans, Kristof & Riedl, Arno, 2020. "The Effect of Unfair Chances and Gender Discrimination on Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 12912, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Schiersch Alexander & Schmidt-Ehmcke Jens, 2011. "Is the Boone-Indicator Applicable? – Evidence from a Combined Data Set of German Manufacturing Enterprises," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 231(3), pages 336-357, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Discrimination; Competition; Takeovers; Wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General

    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:hhs:iuiwop:0734. 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: Elisabeth Gustafsson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iuiiise.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.