Do Job Preferences Add to the Explanation of the Gender Earnings Gap in Self-Employment? The Case of St. Croix County, Wisconsin

John R. Walker and Brian L. Schultz
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John R. Walker: University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Brian L. Schultz: University of Wisconsin-River Falls

Journal of Economic Insight, 2016, vol. 42, issue 1, 1-39

Abstract: This study uses data collected on self-employed women and men in a single county to analyze the influence of job preferences on the gender-based earnings gap. Data reduction, carried out on the pooled sample, reduces eleven job preference measures selected for the study to five: challenge of competition, make a lot of money, job security, close to extended family, and can be innovative. A separate regression for self-employed women indicates make a lot of money has a positive and close to extended family a negative effect on earnings. For self-employed men, results indicate positive effects on earnings for challenge of competition and make a lot of money. Sensitivity results indicate, in estimates for self-employed women, the positive effect of make a lot of money is not robust. At the same time, the sensitivity analysis indicates a positive effect of preference for financial risk-taker on the earnings of self-employed women. A Oaxaca decomposition using pooled, female, and male coefficients indicates the stronger preference of self-employed men in the sample towards make a lot of money explains at least 6.37 percent of the earnings gap.

JEL-codes: J01 J13 J16 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mve:journl:v:42:y:2016:i:1:p:1-39

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