Gender Wage Gaps in Central American Countries: Evidence from a Non-Parametric Approach

Posted: 20 Apr 2011

See all articles by Ted Enamorado

Ted Enamorado

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Ana Carolina Izaguirre

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Hugo Ñopo

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: October 2009

Abstract

This paper compares gender wage gaps for Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador from the mid-1990s to the mid-2000s using the non-parametric matching methodology introduced by Ñopo (2008), which allows an analysis not only of average gaps but also their distributions. While a simple comparison of average wages would suggest small or even negative gaps, the wage gap is substantial when workers with comparable human capital characteristics are considered. Although the gender wage gap declined from the mid-1990s to 2000, the gap appears to increase thereafter. The results also indicate that females have access barriers to certain human capital profiles, which contributes to wage gaps. The unexplained component of the gender wage gaps is more pronounced among poorer individuals. In Nicaragua, particularly, these unexplained gaps are negative for those at the lowest extreme of the earnings distribution.

Suggested Citation

Enamorado, Ted and Izaguirre, Ana Carolina and Nopo, Hugo, Gender Wage Gaps in Central American Countries: Evidence from a Non-Parametric Approach (October 2009). IDB Working Paper No. 27, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1815956

Ted Enamorado (Contact Author)

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

Ana Carolina Izaguirre

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

Hugo Nopo

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) ( email )

1300 New York Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20577
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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