Wage Gap Decompositions

This paper investigates the sensitivity of average wage gap decompositions to methods resting on different assumptions regarding  endogeneity of observed characteristics, sample selection into employment, and estimators' functional form.
Applying five distinct decomposition techniques to estimate the gender wage gap in the U.S.\ using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we find that the magnitudes of the wage gap components are generally not stable across methods. Furthermore, the definition of the observed characteristics matters: merely including their levels (as frequently seen in wage decompositions) entails smaller explained and larger unexplained components than when including both their levels and histories in the analysis. Given the sensitivity of our results, we advise caution when using wage decompositions for policy recommendations.

Since 2004, more than 80% of all high school graduates in Korea went on to university or at least junior college, although higher educated people suffer more seriously from unemployment. In human capital theory, reducing the unemployment rate when increasing the level of education was determined to be a stylized fact. But the current situation in Korea does not justify the theory. Using the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study and the German Socio-Economic Panel three empirical essays aim to find the corresponding reasons and solutions. Koreans’ strong interest in university studies could be caused by lack of promising alternatives. An enhancement of the job training system along German lines seems to offer a reasonable solution to the oversupply of university graduates in Korea.

This work aims to measure the wage differential by gender, color and technological intensity in Brazilian manufacturing industry, 2012, in each technological segment and measure the "technology effect" on wages. The database used is PIA 2011, PINTEC 2011, and PNAD 2012. Applied  Heckman procedure for sample selection bias correction, Mincer equations for wage determination and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to estimate the wage differentials. The results indicate the domestic industry effort to adapt to the international R&D investment structure, but still had low technological expertise and low investment in technical progress. Positive wage returns were found to education, experience, urban regions and leadership jobs, increasing with the investment firm's technology. There was positive feedback for white skin and male, although decreasing in more tech-intensive segments. The Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition showed a high degree of wage discrimination, especially in relation to non-white women. Such discrimination had lesser magnitude as observed more tech-intensive segments. The "technology effects on wages" also was positive and growing along the sectors with the highest concentration of investment in R&D

The study examines the wage gap between bachelor’s and master’s degree graduates in the Hungarian labour market by NUTS2 regions. The databases used in the study have been gained from the Hungarian Graduate Career Tracking Survey conducted in 2012 as well as from public regional data sources of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Relying on these databases independent t-tests, variance and regression analyses are performed to 1) identify the starting wage premium of those graduated at master’s level compared to others owning only a bachelor’s degree in the regions of Hungary, and to 2) define the role of regional factors (economic development, labour market indicators, demographic variables) in the wage differences. Major conclusions of the study are that 1) obtaining a master’s degree forecasts a significantly higher starting wage in most of the observed geographical areas, but 2) the size of this positive contribution significantly differs region by region (partly depending on economic and labour market factors).

This paper estimates the Urban Wage Premium for the Chilean case, but proposing three contributions to the literature. First, the geographical space is reconfigured using functional regions instead administrative regions. This process is carried out using techniques from the spatial econometric literature. Second, we exploit the use of micro data. We estimate the wage equation using a survey at individual level that avoids problems associated with regional aggregated specifications. Finally, we set the comparability among observations using matching comparison. Thus, we isolate the urban effect from other alternative sources. Our results suggest a Urban Wage Premium between 4 and 21%.