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The gender wage gap: evidence from South Korea

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  • Lee Kyeongah

    (Stony Brook University)

Abstract

Using microdata between 1998 and 2020, this study provides potential explanations for the gender wage gap in South Korea, which continues to be the largest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Although improvement in females’ relative measured labor market characteristics plays an important role in the reduction of the gender wage gap, these characteristics cannot explain a large part of the gap, and wage convergence between full-time male and female workers has slowed over the period. Indeed, the unexplained gender wage gap has become larger than the explained gender wage gap. This is confirmed when a decomposition of the gender wage gap is performed across the wage distribution. This study provides evidence of the existence of a glass ceiling. In addition, this study shows that, in South Korea, where conservative gender-related norms still persist, the effects of marriage and childbirth can help to account for a dramatic increase in the gender wage gap for female workers in their 30s and 40s.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee Kyeongah, 2022. "The gender wage gap: evidence from South Korea," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-36, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:izajle:v:11:y:2022:i:1:p:36:n:2
    DOI: 10.2478/izajole-2022-0005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unexplained gender wage gap; glass ceiling; impacts of marriage and children;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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