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What explains the gender gap in top incomes in developing countries?: Evidence from Ecuador

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  • Nicolás Oliva
  • Xavier Jara
  • Pia Rattenhuber

Abstract

Based on tax records data from Ecuador, we analyse gender differences in top income groups from 2008 to 2017. Ecuador represents an interesting case as it shares many trends with other countries in the region in terms of women's status in the labour market. While we observe a significant increase in the share of women at the top of the income distribution during this period, women remain underrepresented in top income groups, at 38.7 per cent in the top 10 per cent income group and 22.8 per cent in the top 0.1 per cent income group.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicolás Oliva & Xavier Jara & Pia Rattenhuber, 2021. "What explains the gender gap in top incomes in developing countries?: Evidence from Ecuador," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-109, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-109
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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Bargain & Paul Carrillo-Maldonado & Xavier Jara, 2023. "Top earners and earnings inequality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Ecuadorian administrative data," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-4, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    2. Luis Enrique Escalante & Helene Maisonnave, 2022. "Gender and Covid‐19: Are women bearing the brunt? A case study for Bolivia," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(4), pages 754-770, May.

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    Keywords

    Top incomes; Gender inequality; Tax data; capital incomes; Ecuador; Administrative data;
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