Documents Christofides, Louis N. 6 results

"We consider and attempt to understand the gender wage gap across 26 European countries, using 2007 data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions.4The size of the gender wage gap varies considerably across countries, definitions of the gap, and selection–correction mechanisms. Most of the gap cannot be explained by the characteristics available in this data set. Quantile regressions show that, in a number of countries, the wage gap is wider at the top (‘glass ceilings') and/or at the bottom of the wage distribution (‘sticky floors'). We find larger mean/median gender gaps and more evidence of glass ceilings for full-time full-year employees, suggesting more female disadvantage in ‘better' jobs. These features may be related to country-specific policies that cannot be evaluated at the individual-country level, at a point in time. We use the cross-country variation in the unexplained wage gaps of this larger-than-usual sample of states to explore the influence of (i) country policies that reconcile work and family life and (ii) their wage-setting institutions. We find that country policies and institutions are related to features of their unexplained gender wage gaps in systematic, quantitatively important, ways."

"An earlier study of wage agreements, reached in the Canadian unionized sector between 1976–99, found that wage adjustment is characterized by downward nominal rigidity and significant spikes at zero. We extend this earlier approach to encompass the possibility of real as well as nominal wage rigidity. The addition of real wage rigidity variables enhances earlier results and suggests that real rigidity increases significantly the mass in the histogram bin containing the mean anticipated rate of inflation, as well as in adjacent bins. Downward nominal wage rigidities and spikes at zero remain important."

"The authors search information on the provisions of 10,947 wage contracts signed in the Canadian unionized sector between 1976 and 1999 for evidence of downward nominal wage rigidity (the disinclination of wages to fall, in nominal dollars, below their established level). Over the sample period, real wage reductions were common, but nominal wage reductions were rare. The probability of downward nominal wage rigidity increased substantially during low-inflation periods. During such periods, apparently there was no reduction in the incidence of real wage cuts, but the magnitude of those cuts was modest, suggesting a lesser ability of wages to adjust to labor market conditions than at other times."

"We consider and attempt to understand the gender wage gap across 24 EU member states, all of which share the objective of gender equality, using 2007 data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. The size of the gender wage gap varies considerably across countries and selection corrections affect the offered gap, sometimes substantially. Most of the gap cannot be explained by the characteristics available in this data set. Quantile regressions show that, in most countries, the wage gap is wider at the top of the wage distribution ('glass ceilings') and, in fewer countries, it is wider at the bottom of the wage distribution ('sticky floors'). These features are related to country-specific characteristics that cannot be evaluated at the member state level. We use the cross-country variation in this large sample of member states to explore the influence of (i) policies concerned with reconciling work and family life and (ii) wage-setting institutions. We find that policies and institutions are systematically related to unexplained gender wage gaps. "