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Regional Differences in the Gender Wage Gap in Spain

Author

Listed:
  • Ines P. Murillo Huertas

    (Universidad de Extremadura)

  • Raul Ramos

    (AQR-IREA, Universitat de Barcelona)

  • Hipolito Simon

    (Universidad de Alicante-IEI-IEB)

Abstract

This study examines regional differences in the gender wage gap in Spain using matched employer–employee microdata, two different econometric decomposition methods and panel data techniques. Our findings suggest that Spain shows a significant regional heterogeneity in the size of the raw gap, roughly comparable to cross-country differences observed in the European context. The results from the decomposition analysis show that although the bulk of the gender wage gap in Spanish regions is due to differences in the endowments of productive characteristics between males and females there is still a substantial part of the gap that remains unexplained. The analysis of the causes behind the variation of both, the raw and the unexplained gender wage gap by region highlights that several economic, institutional and demographic elements identified in previous studies analysing international differences in the gender wage gap are also relevant to explain regional differences in the gender wage gap in Spain.

Suggested Citation

  • Ines P. Murillo Huertas & Raul Ramos & Hipolito Simon, 2017. "Regional Differences in the Gender Wage Gap in Spain," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 981-1008, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:134:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-016-1461-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-016-1461-8
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    Cited by:

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    2. Rafa Madariaga & Joan Carles Martori & Ramon Oller, 2019. "Wage income inequality in Catalonian second-rank cities," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 62(2), pages 285-304, April.
    3. Kajari Saha, 2024. "The China trade shock and the gender wage gap in India: A district-level analysis," Indian Economic Review, Springer, vol. 59(1), pages 169-200, June.
    4. Michaela Fuchs & Anja Rossen & Antje Weyh & Gabriele Wydra‐Somaggio, 2021. "Where do women earn more than men? Explaining regional differences in the gender pay gap," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(5), pages 1065-1086, November.
    5. Joanna María Bashford-Fernández & Ana Rodríguez-Álvarez, 2019. "Wage Frontiers in Pre and Post-crisis Spain: Implications for Welfare and Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 579-608, June.
    6. Giannantoni, Costanza & Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés, 2024. "Regional government institutions and the capacity for women to reconcile career and motherhood," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125631, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Melanie Jones & Ezgi Kaya, 2022. "The gender pay gap: what can we learn from Northern Ireland? [Women’s labour market participation in Northern Ireland: a re-examination of the ‘traditionalism’ argument]," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 74(1), pages 94-114.
    8. Elena Lasso-Dela-Vega & José Luis Sánchez-Ollero & Alejandro García-Pozo, 2023. "Educational Mismatch and Gender: A Comparison between Industry and Services in Spain," Economies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regional gender wage gaps; Decomposition methods; Matched employer–employee data; Wage setting institutions; Industry structure; Female working-life decisions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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