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Equal Pay for (Un)Equal Education? A Cross-Country Comparison of the Gender Earnings Gap & Inequality

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  • Alexander J. Parton

Abstract

This paper compares labor earnings at different education levels, specifically as it pertains to the gender earnings gap and overall inequality in 18 high-income countries for working-age, employed adults. It introduces a novel descriptive statistic to show the ”staggered education gender gap” (StEGG), which is a comparison of hours-adjusted median earnings when women have the advantage in educational attainment compared to men. Regression analysis with an interaction between gender and education level, which includes all prime-age workers (part-time and full-time), reveals that there is a negative gender effect for women compared to men at both the medium and high education levels for all countries included. On the other hand, the education effect, in some cases, favors women with high education. The gender effect and the education effect have statistically significant relationships with various measures of overall earnings inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Alexander J. Parton, 2026. "Equal Pay for (Un)Equal Education? A Cross-Country Comparison of the Gender Earnings Gap & Inequality," LIS Working papers 916, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:916
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2023. "Accounting for the Widening Mortality Gap between American Adults with and without a BA," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 54(2 (Fall)), pages 1-78.
    2. 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.
    3. Anne Case & Angus Deaton, 2023. "Accounting for the Widening Mortality Gap Between Adult Americans with and without a BA," NBER Working Papers 31236, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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