Swinging female labor demand: How the public sector influences gender wage gaps in Europe

Paul Ramskogler, Aleksandra Riedl, Florian Schoiswohl

Publication: Working/Discussion PaperWU Working Paper

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Abstract

We incorporate an economy’s sectoral structure into a standard theoretical framework to explain the influence of relative demand and supply effects on the gender wage gap. Using micro data covering 30 European countries over the 2003-2013 period, we construct a unique macro panel of gender wage gaps. We demonstrate that the public sector has causally determined half of the decrease in the gender wage gap over the period, thus acting as a ’swing demander’ for female labor. We further prove that it is exclusively demand factors and not composition effects that are driving this result.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationVienna
PublisherWU Vienna University of Economics and Business
Number of pages36
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2020

Publication series

SeriesDepartment of Economics Working Paper Series
Number302

WU Working Paper Series

  • Department of Economics Working Paper Series

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