Wage Differentials Research Articles

Gender, Race, and Class in an Intersectional Framework: Occupations and Wages in the United States

Using family income as a class measure, this article explores whether gender and racial/ethnic gaps in hourly wages are the same across classes in the United States for 2015–2019. The study shows that the “mark of gender” extends beyond race/ethnicity and class. The conditional wages of women of any race/ethnicity are lower than those of any group of men of the same class (except that lower-class Asian women rank above lower-class Black men). Beyond differences in human capital, the wage disadvantage of Black and Hispanic workers, especially Black women, is (partially) associated with class stratification. Additionally, the study explores the role of occupations in explaining whether a group’s wage is above or below average. Black women’s wage disadvantage stems from occupational sorting, regardless of class. However, among White and Hispanic women, occupational sorting and underpayment within occupations are equally important. Occupational sorting does not seem to penalize Asian women. HIGHLIGHTS Intersectional analysis shows that in the US, class shapes the labor experiences of women and men of different racial/ethnic groups. Class limits White women’s progress in the labor market. Black women are overrepresented in the lower class beyond their educational levels. Occupational barriers are especially strong for Black women even in the upper class. Racial differences in conditional wages among same-class groups of women are small.

Technological externalities and wages: new evidence from Italian NUTS 3 regions

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the relationship between local wages and the internal structure of the regional knowledge base. The purpose is to assess if the workers’ compensations are related to the peculiarities of the knowledge base of the regions in which they supply their labor services. The test of this hypothesis is based on the assessment of the impact of related vis-à-vis unrelated knowledge variety on cross-regional wage differentials. The empirical analysis is carried out by exploiting patent data and a unique employer–employee administrative dataset. First, using OECD-PATREG data on patent filing, we build information entropy indexes proxying the variety of NUTS 3 regions’ knowledge bases, and the decomposition in the related and unrelated component. Second, we assess the impact of these indexes on wages based on administrative data from the Italian National Institute of Social Security. Our results suggest that workers employed in regions with a heterogenous knowledge structure earn positive wage premia, while related variety has a negative effect on compensation levels.

Wage premium in STEM careers

In this study, we explore wage dynamics of STEM and nonSTEM professionals during their working life. We analyze wage differences along the wage distribution and with labor market experience. The main novelty in the paper is decomposing the wage growth in separate effects of experience, cohort and time, and accounting for potential depreciation. The identification used in this procedure is based on the ideas of the human capital theory. The empirical realization employs data from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey. It shows that Russian STEM graduates accumulate human capital at a slower rate than nonSTEM graduates do. However, STEM skills acquired by the beginning of the career are less exposed to obsoleteness than nonSTEM. This reflects a stronger cohort effect for the latter group, and is an implication of the systemic change and the transformational recession during the 1990s

The gender pay gap in UK universities 2004/5 to 2019/20

ABSTRACT Using UK data supplied by universities, this paper confirms that women academics earn less than men, even after controlling for a range of covariates. Despite narrowing after 2004/05, the observed (unconditional) pay gap was still −0.089 in 2019/20, while the conditional pay gap was relatively unchanged remaining at around −0.050 in 2019/20. The results are consistent with the literature on why pay gaps might occur, with the key disparity occurring when women face a higher cost of investment and statistical discrimination, linked to bias, to achieve promotion. That is, the results presented here suggest that earnings gaps are significantly reduced when grade-balanced gender sub-groups are compared, suggesting conditional wage differences are more likely due to bias rather than any inherent differences in (research) productivity.

Hours Constraints and Wage Differentials across Firms

Hours Constraints and Wage Differentials across Firms

The impacts of U.S. right‐to‐work laws on free riding, unionization, and compensation

AbstractRight‐to‐work (RTW) laws are theorized to precipitate union decline by inducing free riding among union‐covered workers; however, this relationship has not been empirically explored. This paper uses recent policy variation and Current Population Survey (CPS) data to identify the impact of state RTW laws on union status (free riding, membership, and coverage), wages, and benefits among private and public sector workers. Doubly robust difference‐in‐difference estimates suggest RTW laws are associated with substantial increases in free riding, decreases in union membership, and decreases in union coverage. Thus, RTW laws weaken unions through combinations of increased free riding and decreased coverage, though effects vary by state and sector. While RTW laws are not associated with changes in wage differentials, state fixed effects estimates suggest that unions provide some excludable advantages to members in the face of RTW legislation, through higher earnings (union wage premium) and fringe benefits (union benefit premium).

Decomposing wage differentials at the intersection of gender and parenthood among psychologists in nonacademic employment.

Decomposing wage differentials at the intersection of gender and parenthood among psychologists in nonacademic employment.

Labor market distortions in major emerging-market economies: Some CGE estimates

Purpose ― In the present study, the effects of labor market distortions on economic structure and efficiency are estimated for seven emerging-market countries: Brazil, China, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Russia, and Turkey. Methods ― The estimates are based on a computable equilibrium (CGE) model that allows simulation of the inter-industry links of 56 industries plus a sector representing the rest of the world from data collected in the World Input-Output Database (Release 2016) for the period 2000-2014. Findings ― The results show that wage differentials appear to be distortionary, especially in the cases of countries with high wage-income inequality. Moreover, it seems that labor market distortions in emerging-market countries are subject to the rural-urban dichotomy and urban labor-market imperfections. Finally, the results show that the removal of wage differentials affects the terms of trade, which are improved in most but not all cases.Implication ― The conclusions of the present study have policy implications. In countries where the rural-urban dichotomy is the main distortion in labor markets, increasing urbanization can stimulate efficiency; when this is not the case, further reform of urban labor markets is needed. However, it cannot be ruled out in advance that a policy aimed at enhancing labor mobility may have a negative impact on the terms of trade. Originality ― The estimation method used in the present study presents certain advances over others found in the literature, as it becomes possible to estimate the effects of labor-market distortions while considering the interdependencies between different sectors, as well as to plausibly estimate the effects on trade. The present study also uses a large quantity of data, which is expected to add robustness to the study’s conclusion.

Unions and temporary workers' wages in Spain: Testing solidarity in the good times and in the bad times.

The labour market dualisation theory claims that labour unions bargain against the interests of temporary workers and that they foster inequalities between temporary and permanent employees. Conversely, the industrial relations literature argues that unions commonly follow solidaristic strategies towards outsiders. This study contributes to the literature by analysing unions' associations with temporary workers' hourly wages and the wage gap between permanent and temporary workers in Spain: one of the most prominent examples of labour market dualisation. By analysing cross-sectional surveys, unions' influence through works councils, collective agreements and union density are studied during a period of economic growth (2006-2007) and a period of recession (2008-2010). Results show that there is generally no association between these three institutions and wage differences between permanent and temporary workers. The associations with temporary workers' wages are insignificant or positive during both the period of economic growth and the period of recession.

Do outside options drive wage inequalities in retained jobs? Evidence from a natural experiment

AbstractWe provide evidence that suggests that a reduction in outside wage options reduces wage increases in retained jobs. We use the natural experiment of a reform that reduced outside wage options for employees in deregulated crafts occupations in comparison to employees in not reformed crafts occupations. To avoid estimation biases from general reform effects on wages, we concentrate on employees active in crafts occupations who worked for employers in the industry and commerce sectors and exclude employees in the crafts sector. Four years after the reform, the wages of treated employees in deregulated crafts were 5 per cent lower than wages of employees in not reformed occupations (control group). The reform, therefore, led to wage differentiation between comparable employees. The wage effects are concentrated in employers with high general wage increases after the reform and they can be found even at individual employers.

Does Gender Wage Gap Exist among Farm Workers in Nigeria? Evidence from Decomposition-Matching Analysis

AbstractUsing a cross-sectional survey data of agricultural farms, we investigate gender-based differences in farm wages among farm workers by randomly allocating farm workers into treatment (female) and control (male) groups with a simple random sampling technique. We used the Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition method to establish the gender wage gap and Propensity Score Matching to address assumptions and heterogeneity difficulties that plague the decomposition technique. Results show that female farm workers earn ₦ 9,170.83 less compared to their male counterparts, which indicates an unadjusted gender gap. This gender gap in farm wages is explained by the specific factors included in our model, so upgrading these variables could reduce gender inequalities in farm wages. Matching results indicate that the gender gaps estimated with nearest neighbour matching and kernel-based matching are 9.8% and 21.6% higher, respectively, than the gaps measured by the decomposition technique. Thus, the matching procedure was successful in identifying a sizeable proportion of gender gaps that are unexplained due to discrimination between male and female farm workers.

Labourers Migrating to the Construction Sector in the State of Haryana: An Analysis of Push and Pull Factors

Migration is a global phenomenon which has a vital role in any region’s economic development. This study examines the major push and pull factors of the migration of labourers towards the construction sector of the state of Haryana. Alongside this, the study also sheds light on the socio‐economic conditions of migrant labourers. For this purpose, the study was conducted among 200 migrant labourers engaged in the construction sector of Hisar, Rohtak, Panipat, and Kurukshetra districts of Haryana, with the help of a well-designed questionnaire. It has been found that among the pull factors— higher wages, job opportunities, and consistent work are the major causes of migration. Among push factors, unemployment and low wages are responsible for migration from their native place to their place of destination. Apart from this, wage differences and better living standards also attract labourers to Haryana. So far as improvement in the status of migrants’ is concerned, the study found that the socio-economic status of migrant labourers has improved after they migrated to the state of Haryana.

Sectoral Wage Differentials in Bangladesh: A Comparison Between the Government and Other Ownerships

Most of the studies of wage discrimination in Bangladesh have calculated the gap between pairs of sectors, while this study uses multiple sectors using multinomial logit estimation where the sector selection is endogenous. The employment sector is divided into six heterogeneous sectors depending on ownership status. Using QLFS 2016–2017 data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the probability of being employed in a certain sector is initially estimated by the sector choice equation, and then we estimate both the conditional and unconditional wage gaps between government and other sectors. The estimation result of the sector choice shows that the probability of being included in the government sector mostly depends on educational qualification, and the rural population is mostly included in marginal sectors like individual proprietorship. The decomposition of wage discrimination indicates that government employees have a wage advantage over every other sector, except for females. The decomposition result also suggests that the wage gap is mostly driven by discrimination, with NGOs showing the most discrimination in wages offered, followed by the individual sector. Monitoring the wage structure and implementation of the minimum wage is our main policy recommendation, along with others.

Gender wage difference estimation at quantile levels using sample survey data

This paper is motivated by the growing interest in estimating gender wage differences in official statistics. The wage of an employee is hypothetically a reflection of her or his characteristics, such as education level or work experience. It is possible that men and women with the same characteristics earn different wages. Our goal is to estimate the differences between wages at different quantiles, using sample survey data within a superpopulation framework. To do this, we use a parametric approach based on conditional distributions of the wages in function of some auxiliary information, as well as a counterfactual distribution. We show in our simulation studies that the use of auxiliary information well correlated with the wages reduces the variance of the counterfactual quantile estimates compared to those of the competitors. Since, in general, wage distributions are heavy-tailed, the interest is to model wages by using heavy-tailed distributions like the GB2 distribution. We illustrate the approach using this distribution and the wages for men and women using simulated and real data from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

Revisiting the wage effects of vocational education and training (VET) over the life cycle: The case of Thailand

This paper estimates the potential impact of vocational education on wage differentials between vocational and general graduates over the life cycle in Thailand, using the national Labor Force Survey (LFS) from 2017 to 2022. The returns to vocational education are analyzed at three levels of education: upper secondary, diploma, and college. The inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) method is implemented to account for non-random assignment in choosing the academic track. The results show, on average, that vocational educated workers receive higher wages than those with general education, but it has no significant differences by comparing to university graduates in science and engineering with the same years of education. Additionally, the wage premiums associated to vocational education tend to increase at older ages. The empirical evidence corroborates the crucial role of vocational education in increasing long-term earnings and the number of technical-skilled workers in the Thai labor market.

Discounting of employment opportunities with urine drug testing requirements in opioid users enrolled in the Therapeutic Workplace.

The evidence-based Therapeutic Workplace (TWP) is a promising employment-based treatment where access to work is contingent on objective evidence of abstinence from drugs. TWP is sometimes criticized for requiring individuals who use drugs to voluntarily enroll in a program requiring urine drug testing. This experiment was conducted to assess whether urine drug testing as a condition of employment decreases the value of employment opportunities and to what degree. Participants were unemployed, DSM-IV opioid-dependent, and enrolled in TWP. Participants completed discounting tasks assessing preference for a hypothetical job paying a constant wage that did not require urine drug testing and a job that paid a variable wage but required drug testing. The primary outcome was 'job value' operationalized as percentage wage difference to accept a job requiring urine drug testing. Percent wage difference to accept a job that required urine testing was analyzed using GEE. Results revealed a significant main effect of recent drug use (χ2(1) = 10.07, p < .01). Most participants were willing to accept a urine drug-testing job across wages similar non-drug testing jobs. Participants reporting recent cocaine or heroin use were less likely to choose urine drug-testing employment.

An analysis of unequal exchange in Turkiye s international trade

ABSTRACT Purpose- In the process of globalization, international trade has increased rapidly compared to national income (Dicken, 2015). Despite the expectation that increasing trade openness will increase economic convergence according to conventional trade and growth theories (Rowthorn, Kozul-Wright, 1998), this expectation about convergence of developing countries to developed countries has not materialized (Munck, 2021). In terms of international political economy, issues such as inequality and dependency remained on the agenda (Kiely, 2012). Alternative trade and industrial policies have been marginalized (Chang, 2002). An important theory that questions the positive expectations of conventional mainstream theories is Emmanuel's theory of "unequal exchange" (Emmanuel, 1972). However, in its original form, the theory has been subjected to various criticisms and tried to be developed. In response to the criticism that the theory is based on price and wage differences (Subasat, 2013), an approach based on international technical/organic composition and productivity differences in a more structural manner has been developed (Carchedi and Roberts, 2021). The aim of this study is to review Turkey's trade relations and point out some problems using this new approach. As the first study to apply this new approach to Turkey to our knowledge, it differs from previous unequal exchange studies (Somel, 2003; Dağıstan, 2015). Methodology- The data subject to the analysis in the study were obtained by following the methodology applied in the study of Carchedi and Roberts (2021). In the analysis based on Turkey's international trade, five developed countries that are important in Turkey's trade in the long-run were selected and a sample was obtained. In the study, graphical analysis and time series methods were applied as in the study of Carchedi and Roberts (2021). Findings- As a result of this study, in which five countries that are important in Turkey's long-term international trade are analyzed, the findings indicate that there are important value transfers in Turkey's trade, especially with developed countries. Changes in the terms and conditions of this transfer of value need to be examined and should be one of the crucial factors in considering trade policy. Conclusion- Discussion about trade policy usually revolve around trade balance. However, trade balance does not appear to be a sufficient criterion when evaluating trade policies because unequal exchange is a different concept than trade balance. Consideration of value transfers through unequal exchange should also be considered. In addition, the findings indicate that the level of technology has a decisive role in unequal exchange relations. Keywords: International trade, unequal exchange, globalization, technology, international political economy JEL Codes: D46, F63, F13

Canteen Workers’ Wages and Collective-Bargaining Arrangements in British Coal

This paper examines the rates of pay of female canteen workers employed by British Coal as compared to male employees, with a focus on the reasons for the existence and persistence of a wage differential of around 20%. Four sets of interrelated issues are addressed: first, the structure of collective pay bargaining in the coal industry and the formal and informal relationship between bargaining arrangements for female canteen workers and male mineworkers; second, the empirical evidence on relative pay levels and rates of change for female canteen workers and other British Coal employees; third, the structure and influence of the external labour market for canteen workers and its relation to the position of British Coal’s female canteen workers; and fourth, the role of gender in influencing the level of wage differential between female employees and male employees of British Coal. The conclusion is that gender difference seems to be the main explanatory factor for the remaining differences in pay and conditions that exist between female canteen workers and mineworkers.

Gender wage differential in the labour market of Bhutan (2009-2022)

This study investigated striking gender wage differentials trend in Bhutan between 2009 and 2022. In order to decompose the gender wage differentials, we used household level micro-data of Labor Force Survey (LFS), which was conducted by then Ministry of Labor and Human Resources (MoLHR) and National Statistics Bureau (NSB). The methodology estimates the sources of gender wage differentials by segregating gender-specific factors and general wage structure factors. The explanatory variables like women’s labor market skills (education, work experience) and women’s choice into certain occupational and industrial groups; and treatment towards women employees by employers (i.e., discrimination) are categorized into gender-specific factors. Whereas, the sum of observed prices of labor market skills (education and work experience) and price of women’s segregation into certain occupational and industrial groups and unobserved prices were termed wage structure factors. The result shows that gap in education and women’s choice into low paying jobs increased gender wage differentials. However, increase in women’s work experience narrowed the gender wage differential. Therefore, the widening gender wage differentials resulted from gender-specific factors by huge margin. The findings from this study will help decision and policy makers in developing policies which helps narrowing education and skills gaps between men and women. In addition, it will also help in drafting policies which helps women in getting better paying jobs.

Wages Divergence and Malfeasance with Tea Garden Workers in Bangladesh: A Comparative Analysis with Suggestion for the Policymakers

The research "Wages Divergence and Malfeasance with Tea Garden Workers in Bangladesh: A Comparative Analysis with Suggestions for Policymakers" aims to explore the wage disparity and malpractice issues among tea garden workers in Bangladesh. Using a comparative analysis, the study examines the differences in wages among tea garden workers and identifies malfeasance in the sector. The study finds that wage disparity exists among tea garden workers, with women workers receiving lower wages compared to their male counterparts. Moreover, the study identifies malpractices such as bribery, illegal wage deductions, and the use of child labor in the tea garden sector. It provides policy suggestions such as increasing the minimum wage rate, ensuring transparency in wage payment, and enforcing laws to eradicate malfeasance in the sector. It also highlights the need for policymakers to address the wage disparity and malpractices in the tea garden sector to ensure the welfare of tea garden workers in Bangladesh. Study finds that tea garden workers who are members of trade unions receive higher wages compared to non-unionized workers. It further identifies the impact of climate change on the tea garden sector in Bangladesh. The research highlights the need for a gender-sensitive approach to address the wage disparity among tea garden workers. It recommends that policymakers adopt measures to promote gender equity in the sector, such as providing training and education opportunities for women workers.