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The Most Egalitarian of All Professions: Pharmacy and the Evolution of a Family-Friendly Occupation

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  • Claudia Goldin
  • Lawrence F. Katz

Abstract

Pharmacy has become a female-majority profession that is highly remunerated with a small gender earnings gap and low earnings dispersion relative to other occupations. We sketch a labor market framework based on the theory of equalizing differences to integrate and interpret our empirical findings on earnings, hours of work, and the part-time work wage penalty for pharmacists. Using extensive surveys of pharmacists for 2000, 2004, and 2009 as well as samples from the American Community Surveys and the Current Population Surveys, we explore the gender earnings gap, the penalty to part-time work, labor force persistence, and the demographics of pharmacists relative to other college graduates. We address why the substantial entrance of women into the profession was associated with an increase in their earnings relative to male pharmacists. We conclude that the changing nature of pharmacy employment with the growth of large national pharmacy chains and hospitals and the related decline of independent pharmacies played key roles in the creation of a more family-friendly, female-friendly pharmacy profession. The position of pharmacist is probably the most egalitarian of all U.S. professions today.

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  • Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2012. "The Most Egalitarian of All Professions: Pharmacy and the Evolution of a Family-Friendly Occupation," NBER Working Papers 18410, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18410
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    1. Mincer, Jacob & Polachek, Solomon, 1974. "Family Investment in Human Capital: Earnings of Women," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 76-108, Part II, .
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    1. The Most Egalitarian of All Professions: Pharmacy and the Evolution of a Family-Friendly Occupation By: Goldin, Claudia D. ; Katz, Lawrence F.
      by maximorossi in NEP-LTV blog on 2015-07-29 23:07:55

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    2. Moritz Drechsel-Grau & Felix Holub, 2020. "Gender Gaps and the Role of Bosses," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2020_237, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    3. Beghin, John C. & Meade, Birgit & Rosen, Stacey, 2014. "A Consistent Food Demand Framework for International Food Security Assessment," Staff General Research Papers Archive 38196, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    4. Peter T. Calcagno & Meg M. Montgomery, 2021. "The gender wage gap: an analysis of US congressional staff members," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 183-201, July.
    5. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/3t1fcs7p369jmaalnboqhpgknn is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Erica Blom & Brian C. Cadena & Benjamin J. Keys, 2021. "Investment over the Business Cycle: Insights from College Major Choice," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(4), pages 1043-1082.
    7. 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.
    8. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/3t1fcs7p369jmaalnboqhpgknn is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Wang, Tong & Hennessy, David & Park, Seong, 2014. "Veterinary Supply, Gender and Practice Location Choices in the United States, 1990-2010," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170211, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    10. Lucifora, Claudio & Vigani, Daria, 2016. "What If Your Boss Is a Woman? Work Organization, Work-Life Balance and Gender Discrimination at the Workplace," IZA Discussion Papers 9737, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Stevenson, Adam, 2013. "The male–female gap in post-baccalaureate school quality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 153-165.
    12. Caunedo, Julieta & Keller, Elisa, 2022. "Technical change and the demand for talent," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 65-88.
    13. Harris, Jorgen, 2022. "Do wages fall when women enter an occupation?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Chris Ryan, 2016. "The Attitudes of Boys and Girls towards Science and Mathematics as They Progress through School in Australia," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2016n24, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    15. Laura C. Blanco, 2016. "Relación entre la segregación de género en las disciplinas de estudio universitarias y el empleo de las personas recién graduadas en Costa Rica," Working Papers 201604, Universidad de Costa Rica, revised Nov 2016.
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    17. Sevilla, Almudena, 2020. "Gender Economics: An Assessment," IZA Discussion Papers 13877, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Ayllón, Sara & Kirkpatrick, Linda & Plum, Alexander T., 2025. "Child Penalties and Marriage Dissolution," IZA Discussion Papers 17658, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Ghazala Azmat & Rosa Ferrer, 2017. "Gender Gaps in Performance: Evidence from Young Lawyers," SciencePo Working papers hal-03391951, HAL.
    20. Tong Wang & David A. Hennessy & Seong C. Park, 2016. "Demand Side Change, Rurality, and Gender in the United States Veterinarian Market, 1990–2010," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(2), pages 236-253, April.
    21. Asphjell, Magne K. & Hensvik, Lena & Nilsson, J. Peter, 2013. "Businesses, Buddies, and Babies: Fertility and Social Interactions at Work," Working Paper Series, Center for Labor Studies 2013:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    22. 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.
    23. Derek T. Tharp & Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm & Meghaan Lurtz & Michael Kitces, 2022. "Exploring Gender Differences in Marital and Parental Income Premiums Among Financial Advisors," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 15-35, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J44 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Professional Labor Markets and Occupations

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