The Evolution of the Early Career Gender Wage Gap

36 Pages Posted: 4 Apr 2002

See all articles by Astrid Kunze

Astrid Kunze

Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) - Department of Economics; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); CESIfo

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Date Written: March 2002

Abstract

In this Paper we investigate the male-female wage differential: Does it evolve over the early career or does it exist right from entry into first employment onwards? For the analysis we use new administrative longitudinal data and focus on the early careers of skilled workers in Germany. We adopt a simple human capital theory approach. Advantages of the data for this type of analysis are that we can observe complete work and wage histories, and that we are also able to observe workers' skills. Regarding entry wages we find a gap of approximately 25%. For the early career, ie up to eight years of work experience, the differential remains almost constant at this high level. We find that differences in apprenticeship training explain the main part of this gap and seem to lead to a permanent wage disadvantage throughout the early career.

Keywords: Male-female wage differentials, human capital, early career, sample selection, occupation, apprenticeship training

JEL Classification: J16, J30, J70

Suggested Citation

Kunze, Astrid, The Evolution of the Early Career Gender Wage Gap (March 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=306200

Astrid Kunze (Contact Author)

Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) - Department of Economics ( email )

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CESIfo ( email )

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