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.     

Rank, income and income inequality in urban China

While some workers in China attain senior professional level and senior cadre level status (Chuzhang and above), others attain middle rank including middle rank of professional and cadre (Kezhang). This aspect of the Chinese labour force has attracted surprisingly little attention in the literature, a fact which this paper aims to rectify. We define various segments of the urban population in work-active ages and use data from the Chinese Income Project (CHIP) covering eastern, central and western China for 1995 and 2002. For 2002, persons of high rank make up 3% and persons of middle rank make up 14% of persons in work-active ages.Factors that affect a person's likelihood of having high or middle rank are investigated by estimating a multinomial probit model. We find that education, age and gender strongly affect the probability of being employed as a worker of high rank. There is relatively little income inequality among workers of high rank as well as among workers of middle rank. Mean income and household wealth per capita of highly-ranked workers developed more favorably than for other segments of the population studied, and personal income is more polarized by segment in 2002 than in 1995. Workers of high rank, and to a lesser degree, workers of middle rank, are among the winners in economic terms while the increasingly large category of non-workers is the losers. Rates of return to education have increased but income function analysis indicates that this provides only a partial explanation for the increased favorable income situation for workers of high and middle ranks.     

改革开放以来山东区域经济发展差异分析

对山东省1978—2006年人均GDP、人均农业总产值、人均城乡居民储蓄存款和人均社会商品零售总额等四项指标的区域差异进行基尼系数测度分析,反映出内部差异呈缩小趋势。运用锡尔系数嵌套分解方法对改革开放以来山东省区域经济差异,结果表明,山东省东、中、西三个地带中,中部地带内差异最大,地带间差异其次,东、西地带形成发达、欠发达两个趋同俱乐部,地市内差异两极分化明显。     

Trends in Total and Subgroup Income Inequality in the Singaporean Workforce

This paper examines the trends in income inequality in Singapore using Labour Force Survey data from 1974 to 1998. Trends in inequality within and between age, educational and occupational groups are studied using the Theil inequality index. A new method based on the Gini coefficient is also utilized to explore the nature of inter-temporal variation in within-group inequality. Any increase within age-group inequality is due to changing income shares, while the decrease in educational-group inequality comes from decreases in within-group inequality. The contribution of intereducation inequality has also increased over the years, as has inter-occupational inequality.     

Parenthood and the gender wage gap in urban China

Using data from the Chinese Household Income Project survey and decomposition methods, this study explored the influence of parenthood on the gender wage gap in urban China in 2002 and 2018. Our findings showed that the employment rate is lower for women than men in both childless and with child groups, and the gender gap expanded from 2002 to 2018. The data revealed a parenthood wage penalty in 2002 and a parenthood wage premium in 2018. Moreover, the parenthood wage penalty was greater for women than for men and contributed to the formation of the gender wage gap. We also found that three components: motherhood wage penalty, fatherhood wage premium, and gender wage gap in the childless group contributed to the formation of the gender wage gap. From 2002–2018, the motherhood wage penalty decreased, whereas the fatherhood wage premium increased.     

陕西省城乡居民收入差距的实证分析

自1981～2005年的25年间,以5年为一个考察期,对陕西省城乡居民平均绝对收入差距、平均相对收入差距进行考察和分析,发现在5个考察期中,陕西城乡居民平均绝对收入差距呈现指数增长的趋势,平均相对收入差距也在不断的上升。笔者认为只有不断对二元制度进行一元化改革和调整,以及在对农业方面进行持续和力度足够投资的基础上,才能在根本上缩小陕西城乡居民收入差距,缓解由城乡收入差距带来的各种社会矛盾,从而有利于和谐陕西早日实现。     

Inequality of opportunity and income inequality in nine Chinese provinces, 1989–2006

While there is a large and growing body of research describing and analyzing changes in the Chinese income distribution, researchers have paid considerable less attention to inequality of opportunity. The aim of this paper is to contribute to filling this gap in the literature. The two main questions addressed empirically for the first time in a Chinese context are: to what extent are individuals’ incomes and individual income differences due to factors beyond the individual's control (in Roemer's terminology “circumstances”) and to what extent are they due to outcomes of the individual's own choices (“effort”). What is the relationship between income inequality and inequality of opportunity?For this purpose we use data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey collected from nine provinces during the period 1989 to 2006. The CHNS has detailed information about incomes and other factors enabling us to construct a host of circumstance and effort variables for the offspring.We find that China has a substantial degree of inequality of opportunity. Parental income and parents' type of employer explain about two thirds of the total inequality of opportunity. Notably, parental education plays only a minor role implying that parental connections remain important. The results show that the increase in income inequality during the period under study largely mirrors the increase in inequality of opportunity. Thus, increased income inequality does not reflect changes in effort variables, or expressed differently, increased income inequality has not been accompanied by a decrease in inequality of opportunity.     

中国经济如何跨越中高等收入陷阱

我国2010年人均GDP已经突破3945美元,根据世界银行对世界各经济体的最新分类标准,我国已经步入中高等收入国家行列,但与此同时我国的收入差距不断拉大。如何将收入差距控制在合理范围内,成功地跨越中高等收入陷阱是当前的紧要问题。本文通过对我国人均GDP及其基尼系数的协整检验发现,我国经济增长与收入分配之间存在一种稳定的长期均衡关系。只有合理的处理我国的收入分配差距问题才能达到经济的持续发展,从而跨越高中等收入陷阱。     

Migration,population aging,and income inequality in China

In this study, we examine the effects of four demographic factors, namely, birth, death, natural aging, and net migration, on population aging and income inequality in China. We use the official Chinese data and the China Household Income Project Survey data for the 2007–2013 period and apply a decomposition model based on the Shapley method. Unlike previous studies, we include migration in our decomposition model and find that natural aging is the primary factor contributing to population aging in both urban and rural areas. Further, migration may accelerate population aging in rural areas. Moreover, migration contributes to reducing income inequality in urban areas, while widening income inequality in rural areas. The effect of migration is larger than those of birth, death, and natural aging on income inequality. The robustness checks confirm these conclusions.     

Trade liberalization and income inequality: The case for Pakistan

Trade liberalization policies have been adopted by many developing countries to increase economic growth and reduce poverty. While the positive relationship between trade liberalization and economic growth is generally well accepted, the impact of trade liberalization on poverty and income inequality is still unclear. The objective of this paper is to use real data and real trade agreements of the state of Pakistan, to examine the predictions made by trade models about the impact of trade liberalization on income inequality. To illustrate, the impacts of several alternative bilateral and regional free trade agreements are simulated on household income and income inequality in Pakistan. The results show that trade liberalization does not always lead to a decline in income inequality in the short run. Trade agreements that do improve income equality, favor agriculture and often hinge on a decline in urban and non-farm household income. In the long run, changes in income equality are more positive, suggesting that efforts might best be applied towards improving the mobility of labor and capital.     

A new ordered family of Lorenz curves with an application to measuring income inequality and poverty in rural China

The most common data source on income distribution in China is grouped data. When income data is in grouped form, some acceptable Lorenz model is needed to approximate the underlying Lorenz curve. This paper presents a new family of Lorenz curves and applies the main model in our proposed family of Lorenz curves to income data for rural China over the period 1980 to 2006. We find that the income share of the rural population at the low end of the income scale has been shrinking, income inequality in rural China has increased over time and that income inequality has impeded attempts to reduce poverty. However, the welfare of the rural population is still improving in terms of the generalized Lorenz dominance criterion.     

当前我国收入分配差距扩大的影响、成因及对策研究

我国居民的收入分配差距正在扩大,而且有继续扩大的趋势,这已经对我国的经济社会发展造成一定的负面影响。因此,必须采取各种有效措施,多管齐下,努力遏制贫富差距进一步扩大的势头,最终实现共同富裕、社会和谐稳定。     

湖北县域经济空间差异及影响因素的实证分析

以湖北省80个县域地区为研究对象,将其划分为三个类别。运用泰尔指数与基尼系数方法,结合ArcGIS软件,从空间分解和产业分解两个角度对湖北省县域地区经济发展差异程度进行了测度,并分析了造成经济差异的影响因素。结果显示:2009年—2016年湖北省县域经济发展差异程度逐渐扩大。从空间分解来看,区域内差异是造成差距的主要因素;从产业分解来看,第二产业是造成差距的主要因素。从产业分解另一方面来看,产业结构效应与产业集中效应对经济差异程度影响较大。     

Parenthood penalty and gender wage gap: Recent evidence from Thailand

This study first examines the evolution of gender wage gap in Thailand, using cross-sectional data from the Labor Force Survey (LFS) for 1985–2017. We find that education, occupation, and industry significantly contribute to gender wage gap convergence in Thailand. Furthermore, for females, the wage gap between mothers and non-mothers has increased over time, while for males, the changes are relatively small. Thereafter, we examine the gender wage gap associated with marriage and parental status, using panel data from the Socio-Economic Survey (SES) for 2005–2012, and find wage penalty for both motherhood and fatherhood in Thailand.     

Retirement policy,employment status,and gender pay gap in urban China

China’s current retirement policy has been in effect since 1978. The legal retirement age is 50 years for female workers, 55 years for female cadres, and 60 years for male cadres and workers; women can retire 5 or 10 years earlier than men. This difference in legal retirement age may affect wage growth in those approaching retirement. Based on China’s Urban Household Survey data set, this study investigated the influence of retirement age differences on the gender pay gap. From age 30 to 49 years, the wage difference between female workers and cadres increased by approximately 15 % more than that of men. After consideration of possible endogeneity problems and demonstration of the robustness of the regression results, the study determined that such differences were likely caused by gender and identity differences at retirement age. Among workers and cadres, the retirement age policy exacerbated gender differences in wages through working hours, wage rate, career promotion, and job change activity in those approaching retirement.     

The income distribution effects of environmental regulation in China: The case of binding SO2 reduction targets

Faced with serious environmental pollution, strengthening the enforcement of environmental regulations has become a priority for governments, especially with sustainable development as a main goal. However, there is not enough empirical evidence about the income distribution effect of environmental regulations. This paper analyzes binding emissions target as a policy shock of environmental regulation to empirically understand its impact on wage growth and inequality based on household and firm level data from 2002 to 2007 in China. The results show that in more pollution-intensive cities, stricter environmental regulation inhibited wage growth, furthermore widening the income gap between skilled and un-skilled labor. These results were further proofed after taking ventilation coefficients as the instrument variable. Heterogeneous tests show that this negative impact is more serious for un-skilled labor in high-polluting industries and also more significant for those located in the central and eastern parts of China.     

COVID-19 and the employment gender gap in Japan

This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected female employment in Japan. Our estimates indicate that the employment rate of married women with children decreased by 3.5 percentage points, while that of those without children decreased by only 0.3 percentage points, implying that increased childcare responsibilities caused a sharp decline in mothers’ employment. Further, mothers who left or lost their jobs appear to have dropped out of the labor force even several months after school reopening. In contrast to women, the employment rate of married men with children was not affected, which hindered progress in narrowing the employment gender gap.     

Re-estimating gender differences in income in South Africa: The implications of equivalence scales

Most studies of poverty and inequality in South Africa measure individual welfare by deflating total household resources, such as income, by household size. This per-capita method makes no adjustments for the different consumption needs of children or for household economies of scale. However, in addition to being more likely to live in households where average per-capita household income is lower compared with men, we show that women in South Africa also live in significantly larger households which include more children. These gendered differences in household composition are driven to a large degree by low rates of co-residency between men and women. We therefore investigate how adjusting household resources for the presence of children and economies of scale affects measures of the gender gap in income.     

Rising Inequality in China and the Move to a Balanced Economy

China faces serious external(i.e.trade) and internal(i.e.structural) imbalances.Both are related to income inequality,reduction of which will help to increase domestic demand.This paper discusses how income inequality has evolved over time.This is followed by an exploration of the consequences of high inequality.Driving forces underlying the rising inequality are analyzed before providing concrete policy recommendations.It is found that inequality declined in the early period of reform,until the mid to late 1980s,and then began a rising trend up to 2010.Major determinants of inequality include:location,institutional and policy factors,trade and globalization,and education inequality and human capital gaps along rural-urban and spatial divisions.To achieve a balanced economy and a harmonious society,development policies in China must shift from emphasizing growth to prioritizing equality.In addition,government interventions can target rural-urban disparity through rapid urbanization,and tackle regional inequality by developing financial markets, ensuring progressive allocation of fiscal resources,promoting trade and foreign direct investment in inland China,creating more formal jobs and supporting the service sector.     

中国区域经济差距的测度与分解

文章利用泰尔指数,并将中国区域划分为东部、中部、西部和东北部四大区域,对1978-2005年间的中国区域经济差距进行了测度和分解.通过考察中国区域经济差距整体变动情况,以及四大区域内部及四大区域间差距对总差距贡献率的变动情况,以期为缩小中国区域经济差距带来一些政策上的启示.