Male-female differences in labor market outcomes during the early transition to market: the case of Estonia and Slovenia

Peter Orazem and Milan Vodopivec

No 2087, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The authors analyze changes in women's relative wages, using social security data from Slovenia (1987-92) and a retrospective survey of Estonia's labor force (1989-94). Estonia adopted liberal labor market policies. Slovenia took an interventionist approach. Nevertheless, relative wages for women rose in both countries. Actually, real wages fell for both men and women, but women lost less than men did. Certain factorfavored women: 1) Returns to human capital rose during the transition. 2) Relative labor demand shifted toward predominantly female sectors (health, education, financial services, retail trade) and away from traditionally male sectors (agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation). 3) Women with low wages had a disproportionate incentive to exit the labor market, especially in Estonia. Women were less mobile across jobs in both countries, however, so men disproportionately filled new jobs in expanding sectors. Women who remained employed had higher average education levels. Women's relative immobility will tend to reduce their early relative gains. Their relative wages will also continue to fall if their share of the expanding sectors continue to fall.

Keywords: Labor Policies; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Banks&Banking Reform; Public Health Promotion; Environmental Economics&Policies; Banks&Banking Reform; Municipal Financial Management; Labor Standards; Health Monitoring&Evaluation; Environmental Economics&Policies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999-03-31
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Male-female differences in labor market outcomes during the early transition to market: The cases of Estonia and Slovenia (2000)
Working Paper: Male-Female Differences in Labor Market Outcomes During the Early Transition to Market: The Cases of Estonia and Slovenia (2000)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2087

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