蝌蚪网 Journal:
Economic Policy
ISSN 1945-7731 (Print) | ISSN 1945-774X (Online)
The Long-Run Effects of Peer Gender on Occupational Sorting and the Wage Gap
蝌蚪网 Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 17,
no. 3, August 2025
(pp. 35–70)
Abstract
We study the impact of the early gender environment on inequality in the labor market. To this end, we link primary school data to occupations and earnings. We find that women exposed to more girls at critical ages earn more later on: A 10 percent increase in the share of girls leads to a gender wage gap reduction of 2.7 percent. We explore mechanisms and find a strong selection of women into less gender-stereotypical educational tracks and occupations, leading to higher earnings. The gender environment at an early age, therefore, leads to persistent changes in career trajectories and earnings.Citation
Getik, Demid, and Armando N. Meier. 2025. "The Long-Run Effects of Peer Gender on Occupational Sorting and the Wage Gap." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Economic Policy 17 (3): 35–70. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20230251Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I24 Education and Inequality
- I26 Returns to Education
- J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials