Schooling and changes in earnings differentials by gender in South Korea, 1976–1991

Abstract

This paper analyzes the factors underlying the male-female earnings differential and its changes over time in South Korea between 1976 and 1991. Using data from the Occupational Wage Survey for 1976, 1981, 1986, and 1991, regression and decomposition analyses are performed to examine the relative contribution of the factors that account for the earnings differential. The results suggest that the most important factor accounting for the convergence of the male-female earnings differential is schooling. Over two-thirds of the contribution of schooling resulted from the declining wage premiums associated with higher levels of schooling, with the remainder attributable to a favorable change in gender differences in the level of schooling. Over all, the empirical analyses suggest that female workers benefited from the compression of the wage structure associated with returns to labor market qualifications over the period 1976–1991 in Korea.