Kunze, Astrid; (2000) Male-Female Wage Differentials - A Longitudinal Analysis Of Young Skilled Workers In Germany. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis analyses wage differentials between male and female workers. It is organised in three parts. In part one, the literature on the gender wage gap is surveyed focusing on how the main parameters of interest in a human capital wage model are identified. This discussion illustrates the problems in the existing literature. These include the availability of precise measures of acquired human capital, and the fact that the identification of the key parameters of interest often depends on restrictive assumptions. In part two, we describe a German sample of young male and female workers who have acquired skills within the dual system apprenticeship programme. The dual system is then described. This is followed by an explanation of the data set used in the thesis and the sample drawn from it. The sample has several advantageous features for the analysis of male-female wage differentials. It is a longitudinal and administrative data set and includes the complete work histories of the subjects from the beginning of their careers. This enables us to observe skill and allows us to derive precise measures of both acquired human capital and wages. In part three, an empirical analysis of male-female wage differentials among young skilled workers is undertaken. The examination of the dynamics of the gender wage gap finds that the observed high entry wage gap seems to be attributable to differences in occupational qualifications. Early career wage regressions show that time out of work spells segmented into different types seem to lead to higher wage losses for women than for men. In a second empirical analysis, the links between occupation and male-female wage differentials are looked at. Wage differentials in starting wages seem to be mainly due to differences in the distribution of men and women across occupations. However, over the early career, wage differentials within occupations increase, which can be partly accounted for by differences in promotion between men and women. The third empirical analysis investigates the identification of the main parameters of interest in the wage model by instrumental variable estimators.

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