Why Do Women's Wages Increase So Slowly Throughout Their Career? A Dynamic Model of Statistical Discrimination

GATE Working Paper No. 07-22

34 Pages Posted: 25 Oct 2007 Last revised: 11 May 2010

See all articles by Catherine Sofer

Catherine Sofer

Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne - Centre Maison des Sciences Economiques

Nathalie Havet

University of Lyon II - Groupe dAnalyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE)

Date Written: October 1, 2007

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to explain the growing wage differentials between men and women during their working careers. We provide a dynamic model of statistical discrimination, which integrates specific human capital decisions: on-the-job training investment and wages are endogenously determined. We reveal a small wage differential at the beginning of women's career, followed by a larger wage differential; this is partly due to a lower level of human capital investment by women and partly because firms smooth training costs between different periods.

Keywords: gender gaps, gender wage gap, specific human capital, statistical discrimination

JEL Classification: J16, J24, J31, J62, J71

Suggested Citation

Sofer, Catherine and Havet, Nathalie, Why Do Women's Wages Increase So Slowly Throughout Their Career? A Dynamic Model of Statistical Discrimination (October 1, 2007). GATE Working Paper No. 07-22, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1024470 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1024470

Catherine Sofer (Contact Author)

Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne - Centre Maison des Sciences Economiques ( email )

106/112 boulevard de l'Hopital
Paris Cedex 13, 75647
France

Nathalie Havet

University of Lyon II - Groupe dAnalyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE) ( email )

93, chemin des Mouilles
Ecully, 69130
France

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