Globalization and the gender wage gap

Remco Oostendorp

No 3256, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: There are several theoretical reasons why globalization will have a narrowing as well as widening effect on the gender wage gap, but little is known about the actual impact, except for a number of country studies. The author provides a cross-country study of the impact of globalization on the occupational gender wage gap, based on the rarely used but most far-ranging survey of wages around the world, the International Labour Organization's October Inquiry. This annual survey was started in 1924 and contains a wealth of information on wages and the gender wage gap. For the period 1983-99, there is information on the gender wage gap in 161 narrowly defined occupations in more than 80 countries around the world. The author finds the following: (i) The occupational gender wage gap appears to be narrowing with increases inGDP per capita; (ii) There is a significantly narrowing impact of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) net inflows on the occupational gender wage gap for low-skill occupations, both in poorer and richer countries, and for high-skill occupations in richer countries; (iii) There is no evidence of a narrowing impact of trade, but there is evidence of a widening impact of FDI net inflows on the high-skill occupational gender wage gap in poorer countries; (iv) Wage-setting institutions have a strong impact on the occupational gender wage gap in richer countries.

Keywords: Environmental Economics&Policies; Gender and Development; Educational Sciences; Housing&Human Habitats; Economic Theory&Research; Housing&Human Habitats; TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT; Economic Theory&Research; Environmental Economics&Policies; Educational Sciences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004-04-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ifn
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (34)

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Journal Article: Globalization and the Gender Wage Gap (2009)
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