Arbeitspapier

The evolution of educational wage differentials for women and men, from 1996 to 2019

This paper studies the evolution of three higher education wage differentials from 1996 to 2019 in Germany, a period when significant changes in the educational composition of the workforce took place. Based on regression analysis and samples of male and female workers from the Socio-Economic Panel Study, the study finds that while all three educational wage differentials increased, workers graduating from universities experienced an inverted u-shape pattern, reaching a plateau between 2011 and 2015. We argue that the decline which began after 2015, and which is detectable as well in the occupational prestige scores, may have resulted from a relative educational upskilling of the workforce as well as changes in the subject-choice composition of graduates. We also document differences between East and West Germany that appear to level off over time. The paper concludes with open questions related to these findings and potential future developments.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 21-066

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
Higher Education; Research Institutions
Job, Occupational, and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
Thema
Educational Wage Differentials
Gender Gaps
Higher Education Expansion
Occupational Prestige
Participation

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Ordemann, Jessica
Pfeiffer, Friedhelm
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung
(wo)
Mannheim
(wann)
2021

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:42 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Ordemann, Jessica
  • Pfeiffer, Friedhelm
  • ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung

Entstanden

  • 2021

Ähnliche Objekte (12)