Gender differences in wage expectations: the role of biased beliefs

Artikel

We analyze gender differences in expected starting salaries along the wage expectations distribution of prospective university students in Germany, using elicited beliefs about both own salaries and salaries for average other students in the same field. Unconditional and conditional quantile regressions show 5–15% lower wage expectations for females. At all percentiles considered, the gender gap is more pronounced in the distribution of expected own salary than in the distribution of wages expected for average other students. Decomposition results show that biased beliefs about the own earnings potential relative to others and about average salaries play a major role in explaining the gender gap in wage expectations for oneself.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: Empirical Economics ; ISSN: 1435-8921 ; Volume: 62 ; Year: 2021 ; Issue: 1 ; Pages: 187-212 ; Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination ; Expectations; Speculations ; Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making‡ ; Single Equation Models; Single Variables: Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions
• Subject: Gender pay gap ; Wage expectations ; Biased beliefs ; Decomposition analysis ; Conditional quantile regression ; Unconditional quantile regression (RIF regression)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Briel, Stephanie ; Osikominu, Aderonke ; Pfeifer, Gregor ; Reutter, Mirjam ; Satlukal, Sascha
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Springer
• (where): Berlin, Heidelberg
• (when): 2021

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.1007/s00181-021-02044-0
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET