The Role of Firms in Gender Earnings Inequality: Evidence from the United States

Isaac Sorkin

American Economic Review, 2017, vol. 107, issue 5, 384-87

Abstract: This paper documents that in the US, men are more likely than women to work in both high-wage firms and high-wage industries. I then ask why this sorting occurs. I consider two main explanations: men and women have different preferences, and men and women have different opportunities. Through the lens of a simple random search model, I find that the dominant explanation for sorting is differences in opportunities. One implication of this result is that women are at firms that offer better nonpay characteristics, and this plays an important role in explaining the gender earnings gap.

JEL-codes: D22 J16 J31 J71 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20171015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (37)

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