German Stagnation vs. Swedish Progression: Gender Wage Gaps in Comparison, 1960-2006

Svenja Gärtner ()

No 586, LIS Working papers from LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg

Abstract: This article provides a comparative analysis of the development of the gender wage gap in West Germany and Sweden during the period 1960–2006. Despite the economic similarities including broad social safety nets, the gap has developed differently since 1960. This analysis accounts for micro- and macroeconomic factors and politics and concludes that norms and traditions penetrate institutional settings and ensnare Germany in a cultural trap with regard to gender equality. While Sweden has moved to a two-earner model, German society expects mothers to stay at home. The micro analysis shows that family concerns (e.g., marriage and motherhood) decrease female income in Germany to a far greater extent than do such factors in Sweden, which can be explained in part by deeply held social attitudes.

Keywords: Culture; gender wage gap; Germany; Sweden; welfare state (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 J16 J31 N34 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2013-02
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Published in Scandinavian Economic History Review 62, no. 2 (2014): 137-162

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lis:liswps:586

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