IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/lis/liswps/171.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth Brainerd

Abstract

Under socialism, women in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union fared relatively well in the labor market: female-male wage differentials were similar to those in Western Europe and the United States, and female labor force participation rates were among the highest in the world. Have women in these countries maintained their relative positions since the introduction of market reforms in the early 1990s? This question is investigated using household survey data from three former Soviet republics and six East European countries. The results indicate a remarkable increase in female relative wages in Russia and Ukraine.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Brainerd, 1997. "Women in Transition: Changes in Gender Wage Differentials in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union," LIS Working papers 171, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:171
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.lisdatacenter.org/wps/liswps/171.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Daniel Münich & Jan Svejnar & Katherine Terrell, 2005. "Returns to Human Capital Under The Communist Wage Grid and During the Transition to a Market Economy," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 87(1), pages 100-123, February.
    2. Milan Vodopivec & Peter F. Orazem, 2000. "Male-female differences in labor market outcomes during the early transition to market: The cases of Estonia and Slovenia," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 13(2), pages 283-303.
    3. Alan B. Krueger & Jorn-Steffen Pischke, 1995. "A Comparative Analysis of East and West German Labor Markets: Before and After Unification," NBER Chapters, in: Differences and Changes in Wage Structures, pages 405-446, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence Kahn, 1995. "The Gender Earnings Gap: Some International Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: Differences and Changes in Wage Structures, pages 105-144, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Richard B. Freeman, 1994. "What Direction for Labor Market Institutions in Eastern and Central Europe?," NBER Chapters, in: The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 2, Restructuring, pages 1-36, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Andrew Newell & Barry Reilly, 1999. "Rates of Return to Educational Qualifications in the Transitional Economies," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 67-84.
    7. -, 1992. "Anuario Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe 1991 = Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 1991," Anuario Estadístico de América Latina y el Caribe / Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 904 edited by Cepal, September.
    8. Jennifer Hunt, 2002. "The Transition in East Germany: When Is a Ten-Point Fall in the Gender Wage Gap Bad News?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 148-169, January.
    9. Jan Adam, 1984. "Employment and Wage Policies in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary since 1950," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-06832-6, August.
    10. 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.
    11. Newell, Andrew & Reilly, Barry, 2001. "The gender pay gap in the transition from communism: some empirical evidence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 287-304, December.
    12. János Somogyi & Mr. Anthony R. Boote, 1991. "Economic Reform in Hungary Since 1968," IMF Occasional Papers 1991/003, International Monetary Fund.
    13. John A. Bristow, 1996. "The Bulgarian Economy in Transition," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 752.
    14. Atkinson,Anthony Barnes & Micklewright,John, 1992. "Economic Transformation in Eastern Europe and the Distribution of Income," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521433297, Enero-Abr.
    15. Redor,Dominique, 2010. "Wage Inequalities in East and West," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521134149, Enero-Abr.
    16. Kornai, Janos, 1992. "The Socialist System: The Political Economy of Communism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198287766, Decembrie.
    17. S. Fisher & R. Sahay & C. A. Vegh, 1997. "Stabilization and Growth in Transition Economies: The Early Experience," Voprosy Ekonomiki, NP Voprosy Ekonomiki, vol. 5.
    18. Suen, Wing, 1997. "Decomposing Wage Residuals: Unmeasured Skill or Statistical Artifact?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(3), pages 555-566, July.
    19. Stanley Fischer & Ratna Sahay & Carlos A. Vegh, 1996. "Stabilization and Growth in Transition Economies: The Early Experience," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(2), pages 45-66, Spring.
    20. Freeman, Richard B. & Katz, Lawrence F. (ed.), 1995. "Differences and Changes in Wage Structures," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226261607.
    21. Orazem, Peter F & Vodopivec, Milan, 1995. "Winners and Losers in Transition: Returns to Education, Experience, and Gender in Slovenia," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 9(2), pages 201-230, May.
    22. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162.
    23. Zeljko Bogetic & Louise Fox, 1993. "Incomes Policy During Stabilization: A Review and Lessons from Bulgaria and Romania," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 35(1), pages 39-57, April.
    24. Thirkell, John & Petkov, Krastyu & Vickerstaff, Sarah, 1998. "The Transformation of Labour Relations: Restructuring and Privatization in Eastern Europe and Russia," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198289791, Decembrie.
    25. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1992. "The Gender Earnings Gap: Learning from International Comparisons," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 533-538, May.
    26. Richard B. Freeman & Lawrence F. Katz, 1995. "Differences and Changes in Wage Structures," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free95-1, July.
    27. de Melo, Martha & Denizer, Cevdet & Gelb, Alan, 1996. "From plan to market : patterns of transition," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1564, The World Bank.
    28. Jan Rutkowski, 1996. "High skills pay off: the changing wage structure during economic transition in Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 4(1), pages 89-112, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Andrén, Daniela & Andrén, Thomas, 2007. "Occupational Gender Composition and Wages in Romania: From Planned Equality to Market Inequality?," IZA Discussion Papers 3152, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Ng, Ying Chu, 2004. "Economic development, human capital, and gender earnings differentials in China," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 587-603, December.
    3. Daniela Andrén & Thomas Andrén, 2015. "Gender and occupational wage gaps in Romania: from planned equality to market inequality?," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, December.
    4. Kenneth Smith, 2007. "Determinants of Soviet Household Income," European Journal of Comparative Economics, Cattaneo University (LIUC), vol. 4(1), pages 3-24, June.
    5. Kathryn Anderson & Richard Pomfret, 2000. "Gender Effects of Transition: The Kyrgyz Republic," School of Economics and Public Policy Working Papers 2000-08, University of Adelaide, School of Economics and Public Policy.
    6. Astrid Kunze, 2008. "Gender wage gap studies: consistency and decomposition," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 63-76, August.
    7. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2003. "Understanding International Differences in the Gender Pay Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 106-144, January.
    8. Niels-Hugo Blunch, 2018. "Just like a woman? New comparative evidence on the gender income gap across Eastern Europe and Central Asia," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-41, December.
    9. Solomon W. Polachek & Jun Xiang, 2009. "The Gender Pay Gap across Countries: A Human Capital Approach," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 227, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    10. Angel de la Fuente & Antonio Ciccone, 2003. "Human capital in a global and knowledge-based economy," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 562.03, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC).
    11. Cristiano Perugini & Ekaterina Selezneva, 2015. "Labour market institutions, crisis and gender earnings gap in Eastern Europe," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 23(3), pages 517-564, July.
    12. Lisa Giddings, 2003. "Continued decline for ethnic minorities in the transition?," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 11(4), pages 621-648, December.
    13. Puhani, Patrick A., 1997. "All Quiet on the Wage Front? Gender, Public-Private Sector Issues, and Rigidities in the Polish Wage Structure," ZEW Discussion Papers 97-03, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    14. Jacob Weisberg & Mieczslaw Waclaw Socha, 2002. "Earnings in Poland: The Private Versus the Public Sector," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 7(3), pages 17-38, Fall.
    15. Pastore, Francesco & Verashchagina, Alina, 2006. "Private returns to human capital over transition: A case study of Belarus," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 91-107, February.
    16. Rutkowski, Jan, 2006. "Labor market developments during economic transition," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3894, The World Bank.
    17. McGuinness, Seamus & Kelly, Elish & Pham, Thi Thu Phuong & Ha, Thi Thu Thuy & Whelan, Adele, 2021. "Returns to education in Vietnam: A changing landscape," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    18. Nauro F. Campos & Dean Jolliffe, 2002. "After, Before and During: Returns to Education in the Hungarian Transition," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 475, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    19. Newell, Andrew & Reilly, Barry, 2001. "The gender pay gap in the transition from communism: some empirical evidence," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 287-304, December.
    20. Jones, Derek C. & Ilayperuma Simon, Kosali, 2005. "Wage determination under plan and early transition: Bulgarian evidence using matched employer-employee data," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 227-243, June.

    More about this item

    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:lis:liswps:171. 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: Piotr Paradowski (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lisprlu.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.