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The Gender Earnings Gap among College-Educated Workers

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  • Linda Datcher Loury

Abstract

The gender earnings gap among full-time workers narrowed substantially in the 1980s. Previous research has established that increases in the amount of and returns to work experience and schooling among women were primarily responsible for that trend. This paper, which uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 and the High School and Beyond Senior Cohort (Class of 1980), examines to what extent college schooling characteristics other than number of years, such as grades and major field, contributed to the narrowing of the gap. Changes in the estimated effects of college grades and college major, the author finds, can account for almost all of the large decline in the gender earnings gap between 1979 and 1986 among young college-educated workers. Most of this effect apparently resulted from growth in the market price of women's skills relative to men's for a given major.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Datcher Loury, 1997. "The Gender Earnings Gap among College-Educated Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(4), pages 580-593, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:50:y:1997:i:4:p:580-593
    DOI: 10.1177/001979399705000402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Blau, Francine D & Kahn, Lawrence M, 1997. "Swimming Upstream: Trends in the Gender Wage Differential in 1980s," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 1-42, January.
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    5. Levy, Frank & Murnane, Richard J, 1992. "U.S. Earnings Levels and Earnings Inequality: A Review of Recent Trends and Proposed Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 1333-1381, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Juan Barón, 2012. "First job experiences of Colombian college graduates: probability of formal employment and wages," Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, Departamento de Economía, issue 76, pages 55-86.
    2. Juan D. Barón, 2010. "Primeras experiencias laborales de los profesionales colombianos: Probabilidad de empleo formal y salarios," Documentos de Trabajo Sobre Economía Regional y Urbana 7625, Banco de la República, Economía Regional.
    3. Sloczynski, Tymon, 2015. "Average Wage Gaps and Oaxaca–Blinder Decompositions," IZA Discussion Papers 9036, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Jessica L. Baraka, 1999. "Does Type of Degree Explain Taiwan's Gender Gap?," Working Papers 220, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Research Program in Development Studies..
    5. Joshua D. Pitts & Charles Kroncke, 2014. "Educational Attainment and the Gender Wage Gap: A Comparison of Young Men and Women in 1984 and 2007," Forum for Social Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(2), pages 123-155, August.
    6. Ann L. Owen & Elizabeth J. Jensen, 2008. "Social Learning and Course Choice," International Review of Economic Education, Economics Network, University of Bristol, vol. 7(1), pages 9-35.
    7. Paolo Buonanno & Dario Pozzoli, 2009. "Early Labour Market Returns to College Subject," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(4), pages 559-588, December.
    8. Jain, Tarun & Mukhopadhyay, Abhiroop & Prakash, Nishith & Rakesh, Raghav, 2018. "Labor Market Effects of High School Science Majors in a High STEM Economy," IZA Discussion Papers 11934, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Livanos, Ilias & Pouliakas, Konstantinos, 2009. "The Gender Wage Gap as a Function of Educational Degree Choices in an Occupationally Segregated EU Country," IZA Discussion Papers 4636, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Eric P. Bettinger & Bridget Terry Long, 2005. "Do Faculty Serve as Role Models? The Impact of Instructor Gender on Female Students," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 152-157, May.
    11. Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Joseph Zveglich & Laura Wherry, 2006. "Gender Differences In Vocational School Training And Earnings Premiums In Taiwan," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(4), pages 527-560.
    12. Amy M. Wolaver, 2002. "Effects Of Heavy Drinking In College On Study Effort, Grade Point Average, And Major Choice," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 20(4), pages 415-428, October.
    13. Barón, Juan David, 2012. "Primeras experiencias laborales de los profesionales colombianos: probabilidad de empleo formal y salarios," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE, June.
    14. Hasan Tekgüç & Değer Eryar & Dilek Cindoğlu, 2017. "Women’s Tertiary Education Masks the Gender Wage Gap in Turkey," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 360-386, September.
    15. Daniel S. Hamermesh & Stephen G. Donald, 2004. "The Effect of College Curriculum on Earnings: Accounting for Non-Ignorable Non-Response Bias," NBER Working Papers 10809, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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