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Do Markets Favour Women's Human Capital More Than Planners?

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  • Svejnar, Jan
  • Münich, Daniel
  • Terrell, Katherine

Abstract

Using micro data on women in the Czech Republic, we compare returns to various measures of human capital at the end of communism (1989), in mid-transition (1996) and in late/post-transition (2002). We show: dramatic increases in returns to education from 1989 to 1996 but no change from 1996 to 2002; no differences in returns to education by state vs. privately-owned firms; ‘sheepskin’ effects in both regimes, which rise over time and are similar across firm ownership; no difference in returns to education obtained during communism vs. transition; no change in wage-experience profiles over time; and similar increases in returns to education for women and men. In sum, markets pay women and men equally more for their human capital than the planners did; all the adjustment occurred in early transition and was driven by market forces rather than private ownership.

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  • Svejnar, Jan & Münich, Daniel & Terrell, Katherine, 2004. "Do Markets Favour Women's Human Capital More Than Planners?," CEPR Discussion Papers 4760, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:4760
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    2. Flabbi, Luca & Paternostro, Stefano & Tiongson, Erwin R., 2008. "Returns to education in the economic transition: A systematic assessment using comparable data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 724-740, December.
    3. Corbanese, Valli., 2011. "Supporting strategies to recover from the crisis in Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia : cross-country report," ILO Working Papers 994671463402676, International Labour Organization.
    4. Anita V. Staneva & Hany Abdel-Latif, 2016. "From Soviet to Europe: Returns to Education Puzzle in Bulgaria," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 30(3), pages 347-367, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Human capital; Wages; Transition; Czech republic; Sheepskin effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • P20 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - General
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions

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