Gender Discrimination and Worker Selectivity: A Comparison of the Self-employed and Wage Earners

This study compares the size and nature of the gender earnings differentials for the self-employed and wage earners in Korea, taking into account the workers’ self-selection of each employment type. The two-stage estimates of the earnings equation, corrected for worker selectivity, are used to decompose the gender earnings differentials into productivity-related and discriminatory factors. Our results suggest that the size of the gender earnings gap is larger in the wage sector than in the self-employment sector, but not by large margin, and so is the discrimination effect when not controlled for worker selectivity. With worker selectivity controlled, the discrimination effect is greatly intensified in the wage sector, while it becomes not significant in the self-employment sector. These findings imply that the observed gender earnings gap in the wage sector is largely ascribed to discrimination against women, while the gender earnings gap in the self-employment sector is mostly due to productivity difference that, in part, is caused by worker selectivity.     

Public–private sector segmentation in the Pakistani labour market

This study investigates public–private sector wage differentials for male and female waged employees in Pakistan. This is done using latest nationally representative data from the Pakistan Living Standards Measurement Survey (PSLM) 2005. We adopt three methodologies to obtain robust estimates of the wage differential and the results reveal that public sector workers enjoy large wage premia. The gross pro-public wage differential is much larger for women than for men. Our findings also show that while private and public sector workers’ differing characteristics ‘explain’ a larger proportion of the private–public wage gap for men, this is not the case for women.     

Occupational Segregation and Gender Wage Differentials: Evidence from Malaysia

In Malaysia, the participation of women in the labor market has increased over time. However, occupational segregation and wage differentials continue to be prevalent between men and women in the labor market. The present paper investigates gender‐related occupational segregation and wage differentials based on data collected from 7135 working households in Peninsular Malaysia in 2011. The wage decomposition model introduced by Brown et al. (1980) is used to examine the determinants of gender‐related wage differentials. The results suggest that differences within occupations account for the largest portion of the wage gap between men and women. The results also indicate that wage discrimination within occupations plays an important role in the gender wage gap, while sample selection bias plays an important role in the examination of gender wage gaps.     

Decomposing Gender Wage Differentials in Urban Ethiopia: Evidence from Linked Employer–Employee (LEE) Manufacturing Survey Data

Abstract

This study estimates the magnitude of gender wage differentials for a sample of workers from the Ethiopian manufacturing sector using the traditional Oaxaca–Blinder and an augmented Cotton–Neumark methodologies. In doing so, it separates part of the estimated log of gender wage differential explained by differences in human capital characteristics between men and women from that which is not explained by such differences. The latter is known in the literature as “treatment” component or “discrimination” due to differing pay structures for the two gender groups. Accordingly, it is found that in Ethiopia's manufacturing sector men on average get up to 30% more than women depending on the measure used. However, once we control for a number of individual and establishment level characteristics, the level of wage premium for men over women is close to 5% or around 12 Ethiopian cents per hour. Out of this, both decomposition procedures estimate that close to 60% of the premium is a result of discrimination (different treatment of men and women in the labour market). Using an augmented decomposition technique, it is found that out of the 60% “discrimination component” close to 13% is due to men's treatment advantage in the labour market and the remaining 47% is due to women's treatment disadvantage. Also it is found that firm level characteristics are important contributors to the total discrimination component. Without controlling for establishment level characteristics, the discrimination component would have been around 27% indicating that ignoring establishment characteristics in decomposition exercises would result into a biased estimation, and in this case it would have underestimated the level of discrimination by close to 50%.     

Labor market segmentation by industry sectors and wage gaps between migrants and local urban residents in urban China

This paper explores the influence of labor market segmentation by industry sectors on the wage gap between rural-to-urban migrants and local urban residents in China in the 2000s. Using Chinese Household Income Project (CHIP) survey data and the results based on the Brown decomposition method, the results indicate that the influence of intra-industrial differentials is greater than the influence of inter-industry differentials in both 2002 and 2013. The influence of the explained component of the intra-industry differentials is larger in both 2002 and 2013, and the influence of the unexplained component of the intra-industrial differentials rises steeply from 2002 to 2013. These results show that the individual characteristic differentials (e.g. human capital) in the same industry sector is the main factor causing the wage gap in both 2002 and 2013, and the problem of discrimination against migrants in the same industry sector became more serious from 2002 to 2013.     

Wage differentials between urban and rural-urban migrant workers in China

Since the end of the 1980s, the number of migrants working in the urban labor market has increased dramatically. However, migrant workers are treated differently from urban workers. In this paper we examine the labor market discrimination against rural migrants from the point of view of wage differentials using CHIP-2007 data. We apply Jann pooled method to deal with index number problem and use Heckman two step model to correct selection problem when decomposing the wage gap. The decomposition results show that a significant difference in wage gains persists between the two groups as late as 2007. In 2007 migrants only earned 49% of urban workers' income and 17% of the wage gap cannot be explained by observed factors. In detail, differences in educational attainment, work experience and distribution across industry, occupation, and ownership of enterprises account for most of the explained wage gap.     

Do Skill Mismatches Create a Wage Penalty? Alternative Estimates for Korea*

In this paper, we estimate the wage penalty of skill mismatches among young Korean workers using propensity score matching (PSM) and ordinary least squares (OLS) methods. OLS estimates suggest that a moderate wage penalty results from skill mismatches: 3.8 percent for men and 5.6 percent for women. In contrast, PSM estimates suggest a weakly significant wage penalty for men and women only when kernel matching (KM) is used, but not when nearest neighbor matching(NNM) or radius matching (RM) techniques are used. These results contradict the findings of previous studies and suggest that there may not be a substantial wage penalty associated with skill mismatches.     

Wages,Productivity and Aging

In this article, we estimate age-based wage and productivity differentials using Canadian linked employer-employee data from the Workplace and Employee Survey 1999–2005. We use data at the workplace level to estimate production functions, taking into account the age profile of its workforce. Data on workers is used to estimate wage equations that also depend on age. Results show concave age-wage and age-productivity profiles. On average, we find that wages do not deviate significantly from productivity. For certain sub-groups, our results suggest some discrepancies between wages and productivity. This is the case for older workers with at least an undergraduate degree for whom productivity appears to be lower than their wages, while the reverse seems true for younger men. However, even in those cases, productivity differentials are too imprecise to draw any firm conclusions.     

A longitudinal analysis of racial wage differentials for young nonfarm rural workers

A longitudinal data base is used to estimate racial wage differentials for young nonfarm rural workers for 1968, 1973, and 1978. The empirical results indicate the existence of large wage differentials between young white and young black nonfarm rural workers of both sexes. The results also indicate that the wage differential for young men has increased over time while the differential for young women has decreased slightly over time.     

THE EFFECTS OF WORKERS' REGION OF BIRTH ON LABOR MARKET OUTCOMES IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

In this paper, we investigate empirically whether there are differences in labor market outcomes according to workers' region of birth. We also investigate whether wage differentials by region of birth are due to taste discrimination, statistical discrimination as measurement error, or both of these things. The empirical analyses based on the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) data show the following. First, Honam‐born workers have a higher migration ratio to other regions than Youngnam‐born workers. Second, workers born in other regions have a higher propensity to become contingent workers and are paid significantly lower wages than Seoul/Kyonggi‐born workers. Finally, our empirical tests support the third hypothesis that wage differentials by region of birth are attributable partly to statistical discrimination as measurement error and partly to taste discrimination. We rejected a hypothesis based solely on taste discrimination as well as a hypothesis based solely on statistical discrimination as measurement error.     

A note on black-white wage disparity

Conclusion The evidence in this article helps to explain the black-white earnings differential in 1970, six years after the passage of Fair Employment Legislation, in terms of traditional measures such as experience and education along with a public policy measure that has of late come under fire. And contrary to the notion that the gains from such government policy have not benefited the less fortunate workers but simply accrued only, or mainly, to upper- or middle-class blacks, the results presented here indicate that enforcement, such as it is, has had beneficial effects for black men and women in virtually all major occupational categories. When a distinction is made between the various major occupational categories, the importance of education and experience as factors that contribute toward explaining black-white earnings differentials is generally supported by this study. However, neither education nor experience shows a consistent explanatory power across occupational categories and especially across the sexes. For example, experience is more frequently found to be a significant factor for black men than it is for black women. Education, on the other hand, was found to have no statistically significant relationship with wage differentials in major blue-collar job categories for both men and women, thus lending some credence to the dual labor market thesis regarding returns to education. By far the factor we have found to be the most consistent with respect to its impact upon racial wage differentials for both men and women is the fair employment variable. Indeed, across major occupational groups the existence and enforcement of fair employment laws seems to have had, generally, a more significant effect on reducing racial wage differentials than each of the other independent variables.     

The Hukou system's constraints on migrant workers' job mobility in Chinese cities

Most studies on discrimination against migrants in Chinese cities focus on wage differentials. This paper endeavours to develop an alternative way of explaining the institutional discrimination against migrants by studying workers' job mobility rates in three cities: Beijing, WuXi and Zhuhai. Migrants are commonly perceived to have high occupational mobility; however, Cox proportional hazards regressions in this paper show a different picture. Institutional discrimination reduces the number of jobs available to the migrants, increases their job search costs and the cost of losing jobs. Even though migrants take jobs unacceptable to local residents, the effects of this institutional discrimination still constrain migrants in changing jobs. The regressions show that temporary migrants have longer job durations and shorter unemployment durations than local people or permanent migrants. Moreover, migrants start to change jobs more often only after they have stayed in the city for some time and have accumulated enough assets to be able to survive when unemployed.     

Labour market discrimination in the North West province of South Africa

This article provides an econometric estimate of labour market discrimination in the North West province of South Africa. Using data obtained from the October 1995 Household Survey, it was found that in 1995 statistically significant gender discrimination exists against women in North West's labour market. The male discriminatory wage advantage of 127 per cent and the female discriminatory disadvantage of 195 per cent were ascribed to the overrewarding and underrewarding of some personal characteristics of males and females, respectively. Productivity differentials of 40 per cent in favour of females and a premium paid to women measuring 71 per cent also exist. Discrimination explains 50 per cent of the wage gap between genders, while productivity differentials and the premium account for 13 and 37 per cent respectively. The study supports 'affirmative action' and suggests policies that aim to alter the occupational distributions, and these may need to target educational decisions made prior to labour market entry.     

The Wage Gap between Men and Women in Botswana's Formal Labour Market

This study looks at the wage gap between men and women in Botswana'sformal sector labour market. The wage gap is decomposed usingOaxaca's decomposition methodology. This method breaks downearnings differences into two parts: one part is due to differencesin characteristics between men and women, while the other partis due to differences in rewards to those characteristics inthe labour market. The latter has often been interpreted asa measure of the extent of the discrimination against women.The results of the decomposition exercise shows that there isrelatively less discrimination in the public sector, while inthe private sector discrimination against women is a major factorexplaining the differences in their earnings.     

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。     

Wage comparison by gender and the effect of job segregation: The case of Taiwan

This paper examines the wage differential between the genders in a newly industrialized economy-Taiwan. The objective is to verify the existence and magnitude of the Taiwanese wage differential (or discrimination as some would term it) and contrast it with findings in the United States.The gender gap was estimated for the private sector and the public sector respectively. It was found that wage discrimination against females does exist. The magnitude of the “discrimination” falls within the same range as the empirical estimates for the U.S. In Taiwan, however, the wage discrimination appeared to be slightly more severe in the public sector.A measure for the discriminatory effects of the “occupational segregation” was proposed and implemented. Contrary to common belief, the “occupational segregation” was not an important factor in wage discrimination. Nor did the disparity of jobs distribution in terms of “industry” generate any significant level of wage discrimination. The main source of gender discrimination (in terms of wage rates) came from the lower returns to the “productivity” characteristics (experience, education, tenure, etc.) and not from seemingly popular hypotheses of occupational segregation (or, in more general terms, job segregation). This is in sharp contrast to previous studies.     

人力资本、歧视与农民工收入——基于浙江省问卷调查数据的实证研究

本文基于人力资本理论和歧视理论对农民工和城镇职工工资差距进行的实证研究表明,人力资本是导致农民工低收入的主要原因,其中教育对工资差距具有决定性影响;歧视对农民工收入起重要作用,其中反向歧视已成为农民工歧视的主要表现形式。实现农民工收入增长和城乡劳动者平等就业必须"两手抓",一手抓农民工人力资本提升,一手抓制度改革消除对城镇职工的保护和偏袒。     

Analysis of wage differentials by gender and ethnicity in the public sector

This study investigates the source of wage differentials between blacks, Hispanics, and whites, and between women and men, in metropolitan Dade County (Florida) government, and draws out the implications of this analysis for affirmative action planning. Our distinctive finding is that the primary factor causing observed wage differentials by ethnicity is the sorting of people across occupational categories. Wage decompositions reveal that for males, 70 percent, 88 percent, and 47 percent of the wage gaps between white and black, white and Hispanic, and Hispanic and black, respectively, are attributable to occupation. For females, the corresponding figures are 56 percent, 58 percent, and 51 percent. When comparing men and women of the same ethnic group, occupational employment patterns are found to be an important factor accounting for lower average female wages, yet within major occupational groups women seem to be receiving higher wages (on average) than men.     

教育收益率、行业与工资的性别差异:基于西部三个城市的经验研究

本文通过使用扩展的性别工资差异分解方法对中国西部城市的性别行业进入差异和行业内部工资差异进行分解,分析了高等教育回报对行业选择和收入差异的影响。经验研究的基本结果包括:(1)在全部的性别工资差异上,由于男女的禀赋差异引起的可解释部分占差异的57.77%,歧视解释了总差异的42.24%,在歧视部分中,行业进入方面的对女性的歧视就占了1/3强的部分,行业内部的工资歧视占2/3左右;(2)对于受过高等教育的女性来说,存在显著的行业进入方面的不利性别偏向,在行业选择方面,女性的高等教育回报率低于男性。在低收入行业中,女性高等教育和"高中/职高"层次的教育其回报率都显著的高于男性,高收入行业内部则相反;(3)在可解释的行业和工资性别差异中,教育解释了其中的5%左右,并且教育具有显著的缩小行业进入性别差异的作用。在高收入行业内部,高等教育显著缩小了男女工资差异,而在低收入行业内部,高等教育解释力较弱,而经验和健康状况对于这部分差异贡献率较大。     

WAGES THROUGH BOOMS AND RECESSIONS: A CASE STUDY OF ZIMBABWE

This paper examines developments in the wage system in Zimbabwe. The analysis focuses on the wage formation process and wage differentials. The paper observes that real wages have been flexible and have fallen sharply. Wage inflexibility is thus ruled out as a cause of unemployment. The collapse of wages has given rise to non‐standard labour market practices as workers try to cushion themselves against rapid wage declines. Wages also exhibit wide gender, racial and occupational differentials. The paper also argues that a wage policy in Zimbabwe must be pillared on decentralised, coordinated and synchronised collective bargaining.