Competition, Takeovers, and Gender Discrimination
Posted: 27 Apr 2013
There are 3 versions of this paper
Competition, Takeovers and Gender Discrimination
Competition, Takeovers and Gender Discrimination
Date Written: April 1, 2013
Abstract
Theories of taste-based discrimination predict that competitive pressures will drive discriminatory behavior out of the market. The authors analyze how firm takeovers and product market competition affect firms’ gender composition and gender wage gap using detailed matched employer-employee data. Taking into account several endogeneity concerns while using a difference-in-difference framework, they find that the share of female employees increases as a result of an ownership change when product market competition is weak. Furthermore, a takeover reduces the gender wage gap. Although the estimated effects are small, the results support the main theoretical predictions.
Keywords: discrimination, competition, takeovers, wages
JEL Classification: J71, J30
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation