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Gender Wage Differences in West Germany: A Cohort Analysis

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  • Bernd Fitzenberger
  • Gaby Wunderlich

Abstract

A comprehensive descriptive analysis of gender wage differences over a long time period does not exist for West Germany. Using an empirical approach which explicitly takes into account changes of wage distributions for both males and females as well as life–cycle and birth cohort effects, we go beyond conventional decomposition techniques of the average gender wage gap. The paper provides stylized facts of the level and dynamics of the gender wage gap from 1975–95. The empirical analysis is based upon the IAB employment subsample. Our findings confirm the importance of distributional effects relating to skill level and employment status. While life–cycle wage growth is in general much lower for females compared to males, comparing their estimated time trends implies that the gender wage gap has narrowed substantially in the lower part of the wage distribution especially for low– and medium–skilled females but much less so in the upper part of the wage distribution. Surprisingly, we do not find any cohort effects for wages of female employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernd Fitzenberger & Gaby Wunderlich, 2002. "Gender Wage Differences in West Germany: A Cohort Analysis," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 3(4), pages 379-414, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:germec:v:3:y:2002:i:4:p:379-414
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-0475.00065
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sims,Christopher A. (ed.), 1994. "Advances in Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521444606, January.
    2. Fitzenberger, Bernd, 1998. "The moving blocks bootstrap and robust inference for linear least squares and quantile regressions," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 235-287, February.
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    4. Jennifer Hunt, 2002. "The Transition in East Germany: When Is a Ten-Point Fall in the Gender Wage Gap Bad News?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(1), pages 148-169, January.
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    6. Lauer, Charlotte, 2000. "Gender wage gap in West Germany: how far do gender differences in human capital matter?," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-07, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    7. Amanda Gosling & Stephen Machin & Costas Meghir, 2000. "The Changing Distribution of Male Wages in the U.K," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 67(4), pages 635-666.
    8. Bernhard Boockmann & Viktor Steiner, 2006. "Cohort effects and the returns to education in West Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(10), pages 1135-1152.
    9. Möller Joachim, 1999. "Die Entwicklung der qualifikatorischen Lohnund Beschäftigungsstruktur in Deutschland / Changes of the Structure of Wages and Employment with Respect to Qualifications in Germany: Eine empirische Besta," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 219(1-2), pages 8-31, February.
    10. Sims,Christopher A. (ed.), 1994. "Advances in Econometrics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521444590, January.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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