Globalization and the Gender Wage Gap

50 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Remco Oostendorp

Remco Oostendorp

Vrije Universiteit; Tinbergen Institute; University of Oxford - Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 24, 2004

Abstract

There are several theoretical reasons why globalization will have a narrowing as well as widening effect on the gender wage gap, but little is known about the actual impact, except for a number of country studies. Oostendorp provides a cross-country study of the impact of globalization on the occupational gender wage gap, based on the rarely used but most far-ranging survey of wages around the world, the International Labour Organization's October Inquiry. This annual survey was started in 1924 and contains a wealth of information on wages and the gender wage gap. For the period 1983-99, there is information on the gender wage gap in 161 narrowly defined occupations in more than 80 countries around the world. The author finds the following: The occupational gender wage gap appears to be narrowing with increases in GDP per capita; there is a significantly narrowing impact of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows on the occupational gender wage gap for low-skill occupations, both in poorer and richer countries, and for high-skill occupations in richer countries; there is no evidence of a narrowing impact of trade, but there is evidence of a widening impact of FDI net inflows on the high-skill occupational gender wage gap in poorer countries; wage-setting institutions have a strong impact on the occupational gender wage gap in richer countries.

This paper is a product of the Gender Division, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network.

Suggested Citation

Oostendorp, Remco, Globalization and the Gender Wage Gap (March 24, 2004). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=610297

Remco Oostendorp (Contact Author)

Vrije Universiteit ( email )

De Boelelaan 1105
Amsterdam, 1081HV
Netherlands

Tinbergen Institute ( email )

Gustav Mahlerplein 117
Amsterdam, 1082 MS
Netherlands

University of Oxford - Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) ( email )

Oxford OX1 3UL
United Kingdom

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
975
Abstract Views
4,905
Rank
43,582
PlumX Metrics