• Table of Contents
    • Abstract
    • Keywords
    • Article
      • Overview of gender differences in labour force participation and wages
      • Explanations for the gender wage gap
        • Gender-specific factors
        • Wage structure
        • Interactions between gender-specific factors and wage structure
      • Evidence on human capital, discrimination and the gender wage gap
        • Representative findings from statistical analyses
      • Additional evidence on discrimination
      • Possible sources of the unexplained gender wage gap
        • The impact of policy
      • Evidence on the impact of wage structure on the gender wage gap
      • Future prospects
    • See Also
    • Bibliography
    • How to cite this article

women's work and wages

Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn
From The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition, 2008
Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume
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Abstract

Since the early 1980s the gender wage gap has fallen in most economically advanced countries, although a gender wage differential remains in all countries. We first document for several industrialized countries recent trends in the gender gap in labour force participation and earnings. We then outline several explanations for the gender wage gap at a given point in time, changes in the gender gap over time, and differences in its extent across countries. Next, we consider the empirical evidence in support of various explanations. We conclude with some thoughts about future prospects for the gender wage gap.
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Keywords

affirmative action; anti-discrimination law; black-white labour market inequality in the United States; centralized wage-setting; collective bargaining; comparable worth; compensating differentials; education; gender wage gap; human capital; labour force selectivity; labour market discrimination; labour supply; monopsony; occupational segregation; search costs; skill-biased technical change; statistical discrimination; technical change; trade unions; wage differentials; wage distribution; wage structure; women's work and wages
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Article

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How to cite this article

Blau, Francine D. and Lawrence M. Kahn. "women's work and wages." The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Second Edition. Eds. Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online. Palgrave Macmillan. 20 May 2013 <http://www.dictionaryofeconomics.com/article?id=pde2008_W000129> doi:10.1057/9780230226203.1839

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