Gender wage differentials in Italy: a structural estimation approach

TitleGender wage differentials in Italy: a structural estimation approach
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2012
AuthorsSulis, G
JournalJournal of Population Economics
Volume25
Issue1
Pagination53-87
Abstract

This paper studies gender wage differentials by providing a maximum likelihood structural estimation of the frictional parameters of an equilibrium search model with on-the-job search and firm heterogeneity. In a second step, I also consider the role of discrimination. Results indicate higher level of search frictions for women; this result is confirmed by various robustness checks and by different specification and estimation strategies. I also find that the resulting mapping from productivity to wages for men is highly non-linear, while for women it is almost linear. Search, productivity and discrimination play different roles in shaping the gender differential depending on the specification and estimation of the model.

URLhttp://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00148-010-0351-7
DOI10.1007/s00148-010-0351-7
Keywordsdiscrimination, equilibrium search, gender differential