Why is the gender earnings gap greater in Korea than in the United States?

It has long been recognized that the gender earnings gap varies across countries. This paper examines the relatively higher gender earnings gap found in the Korean labor market compared to the US labor market. Using the data set representative of the population for both countries, I found that the significant part of the differences in the gender earnings gap simply arise from the differences in the observed characteristics of women among two countries. In particular, relatively lower labor market experience, current job tenure, and educational attainment by Korean female workers play dominant roles in explaining the observed higher earnings gap. In addition, wage structure and labor market discrimination seem to be against Korean female workers compared to US female workers. J. Japanese Int. Economies 21 (4) (2007) 455–469.     

MULAN in the name: Causes and consequences of gendered Chinese names

Drawing on data from the 2005 China mini-census, this study aims to measure the genderedness of Chinese names and explore the determinants of gendered names and their impacts on labor market performance. The Gendered Name Index we constructed shows that male and female names have been converging over the past century, mainly attributed to the defeminization of female names. A regression analysis reveals that the gender characteristics of Chinese names are highly correlated with parental characteristics, the strength of kinship networks, and local socioeconomic conditions. Additionally, the genderedness of a name has mild but statistically significant effects on labor market performance. Notably, a masculine name will increase men's earnings, while a feminine name will prevent women from entering the labor market and reduce their earnings. These findings support both gender identity and gender discrimination mechanisms.     

Superior female education: Explaining the gender earnings gap trend in Thailand

It is well-known that along with Thailand's remarkable increase in real income per capita during 1985–2005, an increase in overall income inequality was observed. What is not documented in the literature is that, during the same time period, the gender earnings inequality declined considerably. This paper seeks to identify the main factors that contributed to the decline in gender earnings gap in Thailand's wage and salary sector during 1985–2005. A parametric methodology, the Neumark (1988) version of the Blinder–Oaxaca (1973) method, is implemented in order to decompose gender earnings gap. I also make a methodological contribution by proposing a way to modify the DiNardo–Fortin–Lemieux (1996) nonparametric decomposition method so that its results are comparable to those from the Neumark version of the Blinder–Oaxaca method. The key findings of this paper are as follows. First, I find that increases in female education and changes in unobserved factors, which were concurrent with modernization, were the main sources of the decline in gender earnings gap. Second, over time, improvements in the education of females in this sector surpassed that of males. However, the superior education of females did not result in females earning higher than males due to the existing counteracting effect of the unexplained factors. Finally, the nonparametric investigation corroborated the results from the parametric methodology.     

Unemployment and labor force participation in urban China

This paper serves to document and analyze the employment and the labor market changes in urban China since the late 1980s. High and sustained GDP growth rates in China have paradoxically been accompanied by increasing unemployment rates and decreasing labor force participation rates. Using national representative micro data, estimations from logit models show that age, education, communist-party membership and marital status are significantly associated with participation in the labor force and employment opportunities, and the impacts of education and party membership have increased over time. An extension of the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition finds little of the observed male–female differentials attributable to differences in characteristics such as age or education but to coefficient effects, a possible reflection of discrimination.     

Racial Earnings Disparities and Family Structure

One explanation for the widening of racial earnings gaps among family heads during the 1980s is that black families were increasingly headed by females during that period. This explanation is tested using data on black and white family heads in 1976 and 1985 from the Institute for Research on Poverty's Current Population Survey. Log-earnings equations, corrected for selection bias and for the endogeneity of labor force participation, are estimated for blacks and whites in 1976 and 1985. If the impact of rising female-family headship on labor force participation is ignored, one finds support for the family structure explanation. But support for alternative explanations is also found. There are substantial impacts of within-race gender discrimination and of market racial discrimination. When the endogeneity of family structure is taken into account, further support is found for the view that endowment differences only explain a modest portion of the rising gap in earnings between black and white family heads.     

Evidence of Earnings Inequality Based on Caste in Nepal

In this article, the monthly earnings gap between Dalit and non‐Dalit caste members in Nepal is estimated using two methods: Blinder‐Oaxaca decomposition method and the matching‐based nonparametric decomposition method. The nonparametric decomposition method estimates the monthly earnings gap based on a one‐to‐many matching of the given income‐generating characteristics, taking into account the differences in the support of the distribution of those characteristics for Dalits and non‐Dalits. According to the results, the majority of the earnings gap between Dalits and non‐Dalits is attributed to the endowment effect. Dalits earn less than non‐Dalits because Dalits have some characteristics that non‐Dalits do not, that are unfavorable in the labor market. That this endowment effect works against Dalits could be a reflection of the social exclusion and job segregation faced by Dalits in the past.     

Trends in relative earnings gains by black women: Implications for the future

The current article argues that the labor pattern of black women may be properly viewed within a trisectoral segmentation of the labor market. A three-phase characterization of their relative earnings behavior over the postwar period is implied. Empirical evidence lends support to the basic hypothesis of an acceleration in black female earnings growth, relative to white males and females, during the intermediate post-1964 period, but a decline thereafter. The quadratic trend model and its logistic transformation were found to fit the earnings patterns rather well. Projections based upon these models suggest that present trends do not bode well for major gains in black female median earnings relative to those of white men and women in the near future.     

二元结构下我国城镇劳动力市场中的性别工资差异研究

文章利用CHIP2002和CHIP2013数据,采用基于RIF无条件分位数回归的分解法,比较了不同时间维度和不同分位数水平上,我国农民工和城镇职工的性别工资差距及其形成机理。研究结果表明：第一,我国城镇劳动力市场中的性别工资差距不断扩大,其中农民工的性别工资差距全方位扩大,且低分位数上的增速最快,致使2013年其各分位数上的性别工资差距超过城镇职工。其中,低收入城镇职工与中等收入农民工群体的性别工资差距及其来源具有相似特征。第二,系数效应是造成城镇职工和农民工性别工资差异的主要因素,两个群体的性别歧视均有所增强。但与城镇职工相比,农民工群体的性别歧视较大且增速较快。由于低收入群体中性别歧视的快速增长,城镇劳动力市场中遭受性别歧视最严重的群体由2002年的高收入的城镇女性职工和高收入的女性农民工,转变为2013年中等收入的女性农民工和低收入的城镇女性职工。第三,尽管针对中高收入城镇女性职工的市场前歧视和市场歧视均有所弱化,但低收入的城镇女性人力资本水平及其回报率仍低于同类男性,呈现与女性农民工相似的特点。上述结果意味着,城镇劳动力市场中不同户籍、不同收入水平的女性,遭受着不同程度的性别歧视,应针对不同群体采用差别化的性别干预政策。     

Dynamic Analysis of Income and Independence Effect of African American Female Labor Force Participation on Divorce

Despite a continuous increase in dissolution of marriages among African American females over time, no researchers have documented and published dynamic linkages among factors that cause African American family disruption. Using a contemporary time-series methodology, the study explores the dynamic impacts of African American female labor force participation rates (LFPR), incomes, and birth rates on divorce rates or vice versa. The study found that African American female divorce rates increase permanently as labor force participation rates increase, documenting a dominant independence effect of African American LFPR on divorce rates. The study also found that as more African American females participate in the labor market, birth rates decline over times.      

Explaining Regional Differences in Black Earnings Discrimination among Full-time Working Men

Using data from the 2000 Census 1% PUMS, this paper analyzes the causes of regional differences in Black earnings discrimination. The methodology is a two stage process used to generate and analyze a cross section of earnings discrimination across cities. In the first stage, a city measure of discrimination is constructed using the Oaxaca decomposition method. The second stage then utilizes these estimated measures of discrimination as a dependent variable in OLS models to test various discrimination theories. While the second stage offers some evidence that increases in the size of both the Black labor force and immigrant labor force are positively related to greater discrimination, increasing overall income inequality is found to robustly increase Black earnings discrimination.     

A machine learning approach to improving occupational income scores

Historical studies of labor markets frequently lack data on individual income. The occupational income score (OCCSCORE) is often used as an alternative measure of labor market outcomes. We consider the consequences of using OCCSCORE when researchers are interested in earnings regressions. We estimate race and gender earnings gaps in modern decennial Censuses as well as the 1915 Iowa State Census. Using OCCSCORE biases results towards zero and can result in estimated gaps of the wrong sign. We use a machine learning approach to construct a new adjusted score based on industry, occupation, and demographics. The new income score provides estimates closer to earnings regressions. Lastly, we consider the consequences for estimates of intergenerational mobility elasticities.     

Using the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition Method to Measure Racial Bias in Achievement Tests

The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique is typically applied to gender or racial earnings gaps with the goal of determining the percent of the gap that can be attributed to differences in attributes between groups and to labor market discrimination. We apply this technique to the racial gap in achievement tests with the goal of measuring the relative racial bias of these tests. The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT) were administered to respondents from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Decomposition results indicate that up to 49.5 % of the white-black gap in the PIAT is explained by racial differences in average attributes. The corresponding figure for the ASVAB is 44.7 %. Since the same sample and specification are used in estimating ASVAB and PIAT scores, the difference in the percent of the gaps due to attributes can be ascribed to test score bias and not omitted variable bias. Therefore, the results suggest that the “discrimination” or bias of the ASVAB is greater than the PIAT.     

Changing labor-force gender composition and male-female income diversity in Singapore

This paper traces the employment trends by gender in various industries, occupational groups, and educational levels in the city-state of Singapore. Over the years, Singapore’s female labor-force participation rate has increased as a result of rising educational attainment. At the same time, income inequality among the females has increased, while male-female income inequality has decreased. This paper explores the gender wage gap at various occupational and educational levels. It is found that the gender wage gap has been reduced over the period 1975–1999. This paper also finds that because of a lack of sufficient childcare facilities and unavailability of part-time work, women who leave the labor market to start families face certain obstacles when trying to re-enter the workforce.     

劳动力市场中容貌歧视的学历纠正效应研究

容貌歧视是劳动力市场中一种较为隐匿的歧视行为。文章基于2012年中山大学"中国劳动力动态调查"（CLDS）所得数据,运用OLS回归及倾向性得分匹配法对容貌的工资效应进行了分析。研究结论支持容貌的优势和劣势都会显著影响劳动者的工资的结论,并且证明在男性群体、女性群体以及低学历群体中,"美貌溢价"和"丑陋罚金"都存在：前者会带来工资升水而后者则会降低工资水平。更为重要的是,文章首次揭示出容貌歧视在高学历群体中的失效,即"颜值"并不会对高学历劳动者的工资产生显著影响。由此,"Dress for success"具有一定的合理性,同时降低容貌-收入负效应的途径之一则是提高学历水平。     

户籍歧视对劳动报酬差异的影响

在我国，户籍歧视是形成劳动力市场分割的重要原因，它不但通过阻碍劳动力流动造成城乡收入差异，也会促成农民工和城镇工人之间劳动报酬的差异。本文利用中国健康与营养调查（CHNS）多年的数据，对我国户籍歧视影响劳动报酬差异的程度进行计算和分析。结论表明，近几年户籍歧视现象并没有明显改观，政府在制定相应政策时，仍需关注这方面的问题。     

Explaining post-1964 earnings gains by black women: Race or sex?

This article examines the earnings position of black females relative to white males for the post-1964 period. It finds that over 70 percent of the 1965–78 growth in black female relative median earnings remains after controlling for previous trends, education, and cyclical and labor supply changes. For full-time, year-round workers, the post-1964 trend independently implies a growth rate about 50 percent higher than that actually observed. Approximately one-half of the gains are attributable to race and the rest to the interaction of race and sex. The study finds no support for the censoring hypothesis that allocates a substantial portion of the growth to labor supply decreases. While it suggests occupational mobility to be nonextraneous in the earnings equation, the author argues that the black female now faces a mobility constraint more formidable than previously.     

The impact of E‐Verify mandates on labor market outcomes

A number of states have adopted laws that require employers to use the federal government's E‐Verify program to check workers' eligibility to work legally in the United States. Using data from the Current Population Survey, this study examines whether such laws affect labor market outcomes among Mexican immigrants who are likely to be unauthorized. We find evidence that E‐Verify mandates reduce average hourly earnings among likely unauthorized male Mexican immigrants while increasing labor force participation among likely unauthorized female Mexican immigrants. Furthermore, the mandates appear to lead to better labor market outcomes among workers likely to compete with unauthorized immigrants. Employment rises among male Mexican immigrants who are naturalized citizens in states that adopt E‐Verify mandates, and earnings rise among U.S.‐born Hispanic men. There is no evidence of significant effects among U.S.‐born non‐Hispanic whites.     

The Effect of Age Discrimination Laws on Age-Earnings Profiles of Postsecondary Faculty

This study investigates the impact of the abolition of mandatory retirement on earnings profiles of faculty in postsecondary institutions. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) excluded faculty from the protection of age discrimination laws until January 1, 1994, due to perceived adverse effects of this legislation on the academic labor market. After 1994, research has found that more faculty are remaining employed beyond the age of 70 and more institutions are offering early retirement plans. This study adds to the literature by finding that the policy change has steepened age-earnings profiles for cohorts entering the labor market, suggesting a stronger job attachment, and, potentially, efficiency gains.     

市场化改革中的大学毕业生性别工资差异及歧视

以往文献认为,市场机制的不断完善会逐渐消除劳动力市场性别歧视,然而本文发现这一结论并不适用于目前大学毕业生劳动力市场。通过对不同市场化程度企业工作的河北省2007届大学毕业生抽样数据的实证分析发现,随着我国市场化进程的深入,不但大学毕业生性别工资差异明显扩大,而且歧视尤其是反向歧视所占比重也在加剧。本文认为,大学毕业生劳动力市场受传统文化影响程度还远远大于市场竞争作用的发挥。故只有进一步加大市场竞争,才能逐步消除劳动力市场的性别歧视因素。     

Migrant information,job search and the remigration decision

"Labor force migration poses two important questions for the economist. The first concerns the nature, magnitude and direction of labor force response to perceived earnings differentials over space. The latter and more complex question concerns the effectiveness, or efficiency, of this response--namely migration--and other market mechanisms in reducing these earnings differentials over time." Both questions are addressed in this paper "by examining relationships among: (1) quality of information obtained prior to a move, (2) search duration at the migration destination, and (3) the likelihood of subsequent (perhaps corrective) remigration." These relationships are analyzed using the human capital model of migration-remigration and data from the 1970 U.S. census.