Skill premium effects on fertility and female labor force supply

In the last twenty years the United States has seen a positive relationship between female labor supply and total fertility rates, which differs from the pattern observed over the preceding years. We construct a general equilibrium overlapping generations model capable of generating this changing relationship between fertility and female labor supply. We argue that skilled biased technological change in recent decades has increased the skill premium and has therefore decreased the relative cost of (unskilled) child care services. The positive effect of the increase in female mean wages on fertility rates, and the inducement for labor force participation provided by the reduction in the relative cost of child care services, generated the positive relationship between fertility rates and female labor force participation in the last two decades.All correspondence to Amaia Iza. This paper has benefited particularly from comments by Juan Carlos Conesa, Pedro Mira and Sara de la Rica. We also acknowledge countless conversations with María Paz Espinosa and useful comments from Jaime Alonso, Jose María Da-Rocha, Tim Kehoe, José Victor Rios-Rull, when the paper was presented at the IV Workshop of Dynamic Macroeconomics held in Vigo (Spain, July 1999) and in Universidade de Vigo (October, 2000). We also thank an anonymous referee whose comments enabled us to improve the paper considerably. Financial support from Universidad del País Vasco 9UPV 00035.321-13511/2001, Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia PB097-0620, MCYT BEC2000/1394 and Instituto de la mujer (Ministerio de Trabajo y Asuntos Sociales) MTAS 33/00 is gratefully acknowledged. Any remaining errors are the authors responsibility. Responsible editor: Junsen Zhang.     

Effects of sexual preferences on earnings in the Netherlands

A small literature suggests that bisexual and homosexual workers earn less than their heterosexual fellow workers and that a discriminating labormarket is partly to blame. In this paper we examine whether sexual preferences affect earnings at the beginning of working careers in the Netherlands. Using an alternative, and quite possibly a better, measure of sexual identity, we find (i) that young and highly educated gay male workers earn about 3% less than heterosexual men; (ii) that similarly qualified lesbian workers earn about 3% more than their heterosexual female co-workers; and (iii) that among homosexual workers the gender gap is not observed. From this we conclude that the Dutch labor market does not discriminate on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender in entry-level jobs.All correspondence to Erik Plug. Both authors would like to thank Jim Albrecht, Mikael Lindahl, Hessel Oosterbeek, Susan Vroman and an anonymous referee for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper. Responsible editor: Daniel S. Hamermesh.     

On age distribution of population,government expenditure and fiscal federalism

In this paper I build a simple model to analyze the consequences that population growth imposes on the relative needs of expenditure of governments in a fiscal federalism setup. I assume, first, that some government expenditure items can be classified according to the age of their recipient individuals and, second, that different levels of government are usually assigned different expenditure programs. The implication is that, for an initially given level of effective public good provision, changes in the size of population as well as in its age structure will influence the composition of public expenditure for different layers of administration in a different manner.I would like to thank Jordi Caballé, Ángel de la Fuente, Javier Gardeazabal, Federico Grafe, Juan Urrutia and Jesús Vázquez for their valuable comments and suggestions. Two anonymous referees helped improve the initial version. Remaining errors and shortcomings are my own responsibility. Financial support from UPV 035.321-HA090/92 and UPV 035.321-HA130/93 is gratefully acknowledged.     

On the ranking uncertainty of labor market wage gaps

Using a log-wage model, Horrace and Oaxaca (2001) propose estimators of the gender wage gap across industry classifications. One estimator involves the maximum over sample estimates of population parameters, and inference on this estimator follows with the implicit assumption that the sample maximum equals the population maximum. This paper proposes inference procedures for this estimator that relax this assumption. Specifically, multiple comparisons with the best methods are used to construct simultaneous confidence intervals for industry wage gaps. Using data on fourteen industry classifications, inference experiments indicate that differences in gender wage gaps across industries are insignificant at the 95% level.I would like to thank Dan Hamermesh, Dan Houser, Jason Hsu, Tom Kniesner, Ron Oaxaca, and Peter Schmidt for comments. All errors are mine. The generous support of the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Syracuse University is gratefully acknowledged. Responsible editor: Daniel S. Hamermesh.     

Sectoral gender wage differentials and discrimination in the transitional Chinese economy

China's economic reform has affected various ownership sectors to different degree. A comparison of gender wage differentials and discrimination among individuals employed in the three sectors – state sector, the collective sector, and the private sector – provides information on the impact of economic reform. Two Chinese data sets from Shanghai and Jinan are used to examine the gender wage gap across the three sectors. It is found that privatization/marketization of the economy leads to larger wage differentials as human capital characteristics are more appropriately rewarded. Both data sets show that the relative share of discrimination in the overall gender wage differential declines substantially across ownership sectors from the state to the private. The increase in gender wage differential due to marketization is much larger than any increase in differential that may arise from more gender discrimination. Received: 5 November 1997/Accepted: 10 January 2000     

Interregional migration and labor market imbalances

This paper investigates the effects of internal migration in developed countries on widening wage inequality and high unemployment, and it addresses the geographical dimension of both problems. A two-region dynamic model is developed, which accounts for the skill composition of recent internal migration flows; it also innovates on the existing literature on migration by introducing capital-skill complementarity in the production function. The main conclusion is that migration can actually aggravate labor market imbalances. In a competitive set-up, migration temporarily amplifies the geographical dispersion of unskilled workers wages and raises the average wage premium of the economy. When wage rigidities are introduced, labor mobility increases regional dispersion of unskilled workers employment. In the short-run it may even reduce the total employment of the economy.A previous version of this paper circulated with the title Migration Flows and Interregional Labor Market Disequilibrium. I would like to thank Samuel Bentolila, Federico Biagi, Fabio Canova, Alessandra Casarico, Rosa Maria Fernandez, Juan Francisco Jimeno, Adriana Kugler, Javier Ortega, Ferdinando Regalia, Gilles Saint-Paul, Etsuro Shioji, Marco Vannini, two anonymous referees, participants at UPF Macro Workshop, 1997 ASSET meeting, Marseille, 1998 ESPE Annual Conference, Amsterdam, and 1999 Winter Meeting of the European Econometric Society, Rotterdam, for helpful comments and suggestions; Alix Beith for her friendly help. The usual disclaimer applies. Responsible editor: Allessandro Cigno.     

结婚、生育对工资的影响研究 ——基于性别工资差距角度

随着技术进步和女性人力资本水平的提高,男性和女性的劳动生产率差异逐渐缩小,但性别工资差距在我国是否缩小?全面开放的"二胎政策"又是否加深了女性就业困境?本文使用CGSS 2015数据,从结婚、生育角度出发,运用工具变量法、分位数回归、Oaxaca-blinder分解等方法考察婚育事件对劳动力工资的影响及其作用机制,探讨婚育视角下的性别工资差距问题,提出相应对策建议以促进性别公平。研究首先通过对城镇劳动力的婚姻状态和生育情况与工资性收入进行实证分析,发现在控制了个人特征、人力资本、职业性质和地区等因素后,性别工资差距仍显著存在且婚育事件拉大了该差距。其中结婚使男女劳动力的工资水平均有所提高,但由于原始工资水平的差异和溢价大小的不同,性别工资差距被拉大;生育使男性工资增长,女性工资缩水,这同样加大了性别工资差距。其次基于分位数回归结果进行Oaxaca-blinder平均工资差异分解,结果显示随着收入的增加,性别工资差距在缩小,但婚姻和生育对此差距的解释力度却越来越大且相对稳定。即低收入群体的工资差距较大,但婚育对该差距的解释力度较小,相反高收入群体的性别工资差距较小,但婚育对该差距的贡献却很大。因此,缩小婚姻和生育造成的性别工资差距、消除性别歧视、保障女性职业的可持续发展是亟待解决的问题。     

性别工资差异与工资歧视--基于RIF回归的分解方法

文章采用2012年中国劳动力动态调查数据，利用基于 RIF 回归的分解方法分析性别工资差异，并对各收入分位数上的性别歧视程度进行估量和分解。研究发现：随着收入分位数的提高，特征效应对性别收入差距解释的比重逐渐提高；系数效应带来的性别歧视对性别收入差距解释的比重不断下降，但系数效应依然是造成劳动力性别收入差距的主要原因。教育在消减性别收入差距上的作用减弱，而职业资格、掌握技能耗时、职业性别隔离和签订劳动合同等变量则有助于缩小性别收入差距。     

Mothers in an insider-outsider economy: the puzzle of Spain

There is growing evidence that social policies towards mothers have important effects on their labour market behaviour. This article argues that these effects are less important in a Male Breadwinner Regime if there is employment insecurity in the household or if women intend to participate in the long-run. I consider the case of Spain, where the workforce has become polarized between insiders and outsiders and where social policies closely resemble the Male Breadwinner Regime. The results show that Spanish mothers fall into two groups: those who do not withdraw from the labor force after childbirth and those who withdraw and do not re-enter after their children arrive at school age. Entry or re-entry appears related to the husband's employment uncertainty. Married women in an insider household are less likely to be mobile than women in an outsider household.This research was initiated with the financial support from the Bank of Spain (Fondo para Estudios sobre el Mercado de Trabajo) and the CIRIT (Generalitat de Catalunya). An earlier version has been published in Spanish in Adam, 1995 a. I benefited from presentations in the session on Women's Labour Force Transitions in the ESPE ninth annual meeting at Lisbon, in the IESA (CSIC, Madrid) seminar, in the session on European Labour Markets in the IEA meeting at Tunis, and in the IGIER seminar. I thank Namkee Ahn, Siv Gustafsson, John Ermisch, Andrea Ichino, Sergi Jiménez, Dennis Snower, Robert Waldmann and an anonymous referee for comments. My very especial thanks go to my thesis supervisor, John Micklewright, to Gosta Esping-Andersen, John Myles and David Soskice. Responsible editors: Siv S. Gustafsson, John F. Ermisch.     

The gender wage gap and wage arrears in Russia: Evidence from the RLMS

This paper re-examines the gender wage gap in Russia between 1994 and 1998 taking into account the pervasiveness of Russias non-payment institutions. Using censored regression techniques we investigate wage discrimination at different sections of the income distribution and for various important sub-groups. We find that the wage gap is distributed unevenly. Most notably, women at the lower end of the income distribution suffer the highest degree of discrimination. However, we find that wage arrears and payment in-kind attenuated wage discrimination, particularly amongst the lowest paid workers, suggesting that Russian enterprise managers assigned importance to equity considerations when allocating these forms of non-payment.All correspondence to Carmen A Li. We are grateful for the helpful comments and suggestions of Vanessa Fry, Amanda Gosling, Tim Hatton, Alastair McAuley and two anonymous referees. The usual disclaimer applies. Responsible editor: Junsen Zhang.     

Ceilings or floors? Gender wage gaps by education in Spain

This paper analyzes the gender gap throughout the wage distribution in Spain using data from the European Community Household Panel. Quantile regression and panel data techniques are used to estimate wage regressions. In contrast with the steep increasing pattern found in other countries, the flatter evolution of the Spanish gender gap hides an intriguing composition effect. For highly educated workers, in line with the conventional glass ceiling hypothesis, the gap increases as we move up the distribution. However, for less-educated workers the gap decreases. We label this novel fact as a floor pattern and argue that it can be explained by statistical discrimination exerted by employers in countries where less-educated women have low participation rates.

Gender effect on housework allocation: Evidence from Spanish two-earner couples

In this paper we study the reasons behind the asymmetric distribution of housework within Spanish two-earner couples. Spouses' housework times are estimated jointly in a bivariate framework using data from the 1991 Work Situation and Time Use Survey. In order to understand the impact of gender-specific factors on the observed allocation of housework, we perform estimations that are in line with the Oaxaca decomposition. Our results suggest that the unequal division of domestic work between wives and husbands in our sample is mainly explained by gender-specific effects rather than by differences in their observable characteristics. All correspondence to Daniel Miles. We thank Juan F. Jimeno, a co-editor and two anonymous referees for helpful comments and the Spanish Instituto de la Mujer for providing us with the data. Financial support from the Cátedra de Estudios Feministas-Caixanova and from the Spanish Dirección General de Ense?anza Superior, grant number BEC2001-1270, is also gratefully acknowledged. Responsible editor: Daniel S. Hamermesh.     

Determinants of family migration: short moves vs. long moves

This paper examines factors underlying family migration. Based on a sample of stable Finnish families, both short- and long-distance migration is investigated. The empirical analysis carried out using multinomial logit modelling shows a strong negative association between the family life-cycle and migration. The findings indicate that migration takes place mainly due to the demands of the husbands career, resulting in the wives being tied migrants. Two-earner families are less migratory, and in that sense the husbands are tied stayers. Distance matters; several differences are noticed between short- and long-distance migrants.Financial support from the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation (project no. 4271) is gratefully acknowledged. I would like to thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments on this paper. I also wish to thank Kari Hälänen, Sari Pekkala and Hannu Tervo for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. Responsible editor: John F. Ermisch.     

Assessing the effects of an early retirement program

We investigate induced retirement effects of the Norwegian early retirement program AFP and emphasize effects caused by relocations of some individuals from disability pension and unemployment to AFP. Theoretical considerations predict that AFP unambiguously induces more early retirement. Analyzing Norwegian register data 1994–96 with parametric and non-parametric methods, we demonstrate that i) economic incentives influence the retirement decision, ii) there is a significant net induced retirement effect, iii) by a conservative judgment, at least 50% of the AFP retirees would have stayed in the labor force without the scheme.All correspondence to Espen Bratberg. We are indebted to the referees for detailed remarks, which significantly improved the paper. Financial support from the Norwegian Research Council and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs is greatly appreciated. We are grateful for valuable comments from Erik Hernæs and Astrid Grasdal, seminar participants at the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo, the Institute for International Economic Studies in Stockholm, and the University of Linz, the 2000 Conference of the European Society for Population Economics in Bonn, and the German-Norwegian Seminar on Social Insurance in Berlin, 2000. Bratberg would also like to thank the Humboldt University for its hospitality during a stay in the winter of 2003. Responsible editor: Christoph M. Schmidt.     

中国大学毕业生性别工资差距分布特征研究——“天花板效应”还是“粘地板效应”?

文章基于"中国大学毕业生求职与工作能力调查"数据,研究大学毕业生性别工资差距及分布特征。Quantile回归分解显示,男生毕业半年后的月工资高于女生约9%～20%,性别工资差距随分位点升高而扩大。这表明大学毕业生性别工资差距中存在"天花板效应"而非"粘地板效应"。性别工资差距中绝大部分(90%左右)归于歧视,工资分布顶端约30%的女生群体所受歧视更大,她们更应受到反歧视政策的关注。分行业和职业对性别工资的Quantile回归分解显示,行业性别隔离和职业性别隔离现象并存。此外,工作能力对缩小性别工资差距和歧视有积极作用,"211"重点大学、本科学历、具有实习经验(与专业相关和无关实习兼有)的男生工作能力更强。     

Contributions in heterogeneous communities: Evidence from Indonesia

Using household-level data from Indonesia, we investigate the importance of community characteristics: ethnic diversity and central government transfers, inter alia, in determining monetary and time contributions to community organizations. We present a framework in which ethnic diversity affects contributions through three channels: (1) diversity of preferences (2) transaction costs, and (3) inter-household considerations in the form of altruism towards ones ethnic group. Our empirical findings provide evidence that ethnic diversity has a negative and significant effect on contributions, and the prevalence of community organizations. We find evidence that government spending crowds out private monetary contributions, with a less robust effect on time contributions.All correspondence to Una Okonkwo Osili. The authors would like to thank RAND and Lembaga Demografi of the University of Indonesia for making the data available. We would also like to thank Victoria Beard and Chris Peterson at RAND for their assistance. We have also benefited greatly from discussions with Kathleen Beegle, Partha Deb, Kevin Hasker, Kay Ikranagara, Ifeanyi Osili, Richard Steinberg, Mark Wilhelm, and seminar participants at IUPUI, RAND, and LSU. Dan Du and Yang Wang provided valuable research assistance. Financial support from the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy is grateful acknowledged. Responsible editor: Daniel S. Hamermesh.     

Long run opportunity-costs of children according to education of the mother in the Netherlands

Children claim a large part of the parents' potential resources, particularly their time. Direct time costs arise through the time spent out of the labour force while the children are small, indirect costs are the result of lower investment into human capital. It is demonstrated in this paper that the average opportunity costs of children of lower educated mothers can be higher than those of higher educated mothers.The author wishes to thank his colleagues from de Leerstoel Vergelijkende Bevolkings- en Emancipatie-economie, especially Siv Gustafsson, John F. Ermisch and two anonymous referees for their comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper. The author is also thankful for Mr. and Mrs. van Ingen for their advice on improving the English text. Financial support from the FMO is gratefully acknowledged. Responsible editors: Siv S. Gustafsson, John F. Ermisch.     

How does social security affect economic growth? Evidence from cross-country data

This paper investigates how social security interacts with growth and growth determinants (savings, human capital investment, and fertility). Our empirical investigation finds that the estimated coefficient on social security is significantly negative in the fertility equation, insignificant in the saving equation, and significantly positive in the growth and education equations. By contrast, the estimated coefficient on growth is insignificant in the social security equation. The results suggest that social security may indeed be conducive to growth through tipping the trade-off between the number and quality of children toward the latter.All correspondence to Junsen Zhang. We would like to thank the editor, two anonymous referees, Jim Davies, Frank Denton, Se-Jik Kim, and Mike McAleer for helpful comments and suggestions. Any remaining omissions and errors are the authors responsibility. Responsible editor: Alessandro Cigno.     

区域经济环境对工资性别差异的影响——基于多层模型的分析途径

本文建立了中国城镇居民工资方程的多层模型,并提出了相应的工资差异分解方法,用于分析区域经济环境对工资性别差异的影响。结果表明,在所有地区劳动力市场中,均存在明显的工资性别差异。虽然地区市场化水平的提高有助于个体工资水平的提升,但却导致工资性别差异的扩大;尽管地区失业率的上升将对个体工资获得产生不利影响,但却导致工资性别差异的缩小。市场化程度越高的地区,工资性别歧视越严重。因此,在市场化进程中,政府在努力发展教育和扩大就业的同时,应致力于实施公平的工资分配制度,将有助于缓解针对女性的工资歧视,进而有助于工资性别差异的缩小。     

Gender wage differentials in private and public sector jobs

In this study gender wage differentials in private and public sector jobs in Austria are calculated. Occupational attainment is considered as endogeneous by the use of an ordered response model. Results show that wage discrimination is also present in the public sector, though on a lower level. Both in private firms and for public servants a substantial part of this unwarranted differential is due to unequal professional advancement.This research was supported by the Austrian Ponds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung under the projects no. J0548-S0Z and 8327. Valuable comments by E. Barth, C. Brown, J. McNeill, seminar participants at Fribourg and two anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged.