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Why Did Gender Wage Convergence in the United States Stall?

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Q. Blair
  • Benjamin Posmanick

Abstract

During the 1980s, the wage gap between white women and white men in the US declined by approximately 1 percentage point per year. In the decades since, the rate of gender wage convergence has stalled to less than one-third of its previous value. An outstanding puzzle in economics is "why did gender wage convergence in the US stall?" Using an event study design that exploits the timing of state and federal family-leave policies, we show that the introduction of the policies can explain 94% of the reduction in the rate of gender wage convergence that is unaccounted for after controlling for changes in observable characteristics of workers. If gender wage convergence had continued at the pre-family leave rate, wage parity between white women and white men would have been achieved as early as 2017.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Q. Blair & Benjamin Posmanick, 2023. "Why Did Gender Wage Convergence in the United States Stall?," NBER Working Papers 30821, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30821
    Note: CH DAE LE LS PE PR
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    Cited by:

    1. Kristin F. Butcher & Deniz Çivril & Sari Pekkala Kerr, 2024. "The Impact of State Paid Leave Laws on Firms and Establishments: Evidence from the First Three States," Working Paper Series WP 2024-12, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    2. Del Rey, Elena & Racionero, Maria & Silva, Jose I., 2024. "Employer vs government parental leave: Labour market effects," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).

    More about this item

    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
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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