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Acemoglu Daron, David Autor and David Lyle (2004).
Women, War, and Wages: The Effect of Female Labor Supply on the Wage Structure at Midcentur.
In: Journal of Political Economy
112(3)
, 497-551
.
Abstract.
Link.
We exploit the military mobilization for World War II to investigate the effects of female labor supply on the wage structure. The mobilization drew many women into the workforce permanently. But the impact was not uniform across states. In states with greater mobilization of men, women worked more after the war and in 1950, though not in 1940. These induced shifts in female labor supply lowered female and male wages and increased earnings inequality between high school- and college-educated men. It appears that at midcentury, women were closer substitutes for high school men than for those with lower skills. [close]
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Alderman, Harold, Jere Behrman, David Ross and Richard Sabot (1996).
Decomposing the Gender Gap in Cognitive Skills in a Poor Rural Economy.
In: Journal of Human Resources
31(1)
, 229-254
.
Abstract.
Link.
Girls lag markedly behind boys in education in many developing countries, which may slow economic growth and increase inequity. This paper uses indicators of the output of the education production process, cognitive skills, to characterize and to investigate the determinants of the large educational gender gap in rural Pakistan. Local school availability accounts for about a third of the total cognitive achievement gender gap and over two-fifths of that in numeracy, which implies that policies that increased local school availability for girls could reduce substantially the gender gaps in cognitive skills. To further reduce these gender gaps will require policies that focus on the demand side of the market, where, our results suggest, the response to modest changes in incentives may be high. [close]
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Alm, James and John Winters (2009).
Distance and Intrastate College Student Migration.
In: Economics of Education Review
28(6)
, 728-738
.
Abstract.
Link.
Most studies of student migration focus on interstate migration of college students, largely because the aggregate data typically used are limited in geographic specificity to states. However, interstate migration is only a small part of the total student migration. Public institutions generally get most of their students from within their state; for example, 88 percent of first-time freshmen who enrolled in University System of Georgia institutions in 2002 graduated from Georgia schools. Such intrastate migration is seldom considered. This paper examines intrastate college student migration, using data for Georgia. Aside from such traditional measures of benefits and costs like tuition, financial aid, and school quality, a crucial explanatory variable in our analysis is the distance from a student's home to the different Georgia state institutions. Our empirical results indicate that student intrastate migration is strongly discouraged by greater distance, but with effects that differ across types of higher education institutions. [close]
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Altug, Sumru and Robert Miller (1998).
The Effect of Work Experience on Female Wages and Labour Supply.
In: Review of Economic Studies
65(1)
, 45-85
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper develops and implements a semiparametric estimator for investigating, with panel data, the importance of human capital and time nonseparable preferences to females when aggregate shocks are present. It provides a set of conditions for making statistical inferences about agents' expectations of their correlated future choices, from a short panel. Under the assumption that observed allocations are Pareto optimal, a dynamic model of female labour supply and participation is estimated, in which experience on the job raises future wages, and time spent off the job in the past directly affects current utility (or, indirectly through productivity in the non-market sector). [close]
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Angrist, Joshua and Victor Lavy (2009).
The Effects of High Stakes High School Achievement Awards: Evidence from a Randomized Trial.
In: American Economic Review
99(4)
, 1384-1414
.
Abstract.
Link.
The Israeli matriculation certificate is a prerequisite for most postsecondary schooling. In a randomized trial, we attempted to increase certification rates among low-achievers with cash incentives. The experiment used a school-based randomization design offering awards to all who passed their exams in treated schools. This led to a substantial increase in certification rates for girls but had no effect on boys. Affected girls had a relatively high ex ante chance of certification. The increase in girls' matriculation rates translated into an increased likelihood of college attendance. Female matriculation rates increased partly because treated girls devoted extra time to exam preparation. [close]
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Antonovics, Kate and Arthur Goldberger (2005).
Does Increasing Women's Schooling Raise the Schooling of the Next Generation? Comment.
In: American Economic Review
95(5)
, 1738-1744
.
Link.
[close]
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Arcidiacono, Peter (2004).
Ability Sorting and the Returns to College Major.
In: Journal of Econometrics
121(1-2)
, 343-375
.
Abstract.
Link.
Large earnings and ability differences exist across majors. This paper seeks to estimate the monetary returns to particular majors as well as find the causes of the ability sorting across majors. In order to accomplish this, I estimate a dynamic model of college and major choice. Even after controlling for selection, large earnings premiums exist for certain majors. Differences in monetary returns explain little of the ability sorting across majors; virtually all ability sorting is because of preferences for particular majors in college and the workplace, with the former being larger than the latter. [close]
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Atkinson, Brian and Suzanne Vogelius (1995).
Gender and Equity in European Economics Education.
AEEE:
Association of European Economics Education
.
[close]
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Autor, David and David Scarborough (2008).
Does Job Testing Harm Minority Workers? Evidence from Retail Establishments.
In: Quarterly Journal of Economics
123(1)
, 219-277
.
Abstract.
Link.
Because minorities typically fare poorly on standardized tests, job testing is thought to pose an equality-efficiency trade-off: testing improves selection but reduces minority hiring. We develop a conceptual framework to assess when this trade-off is likely to apply and evaluate the evidence for such a trade-off using hiring and productivity data from a national retail firm whose 1,363 stores switched from informal to test-based worker screening over the course of one year. We document that testing yielded more productive hires at this firm-raising mean and median tenure by 10% or more. Consistent with prior research, minorities performed worse on the test. Yet, testing had no measurable impact on minority hiring, and productivity gains were uniformly large among minority and nonminority hires. These results suggest that job testing raised the precision of screening without introducing additional negative information about minority applicants, most plausibly because both the job test and the informal screen that preceded it were unbiased. [close]
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Autor, David, David Figlio, Krzysztof Karbownik, Jeffrey Roth and Melanie Wasserman (2016).
Family disadvantage and the gender gap in bahevioural and educational outcomes.
NBER Working Papers / No:22267.
Abstract.
Link.
Using birth certificates matched to schooling records for Florida children born 1992–2002, we assess whether family disadvantage disproportionately impedes the pre-market development of boys. We find that, relative to their sisters, boys born to disadvantaged families have higher rates of disciplinary problems, lower achievement scores, and fewer high-school completions. Evidence supports that this is a causal effect of the post-natal environment; family disadvantage is unrelated to the gender gap in neonatal health. We conclude that the gender gap among black children is larger than among white children in substantial part because black children are raised in more disadvantaged families. [close]
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Averett, Susan and Mark Burton (1996).
College Attendance and the College Wage Premium: Differences by Gender.
In: Economics of Education Review
15(1)
, 37-49
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper examines gender differences in the decision of whether or not to attend college. We use a human capital model of the decision to attend college, positing that this decision is a function of family background characteristics and the expected future earnings differential between college and high school graduates (the college wage premium). Using data from the NLSY, we demonstrate that for men, the higher the college wage premium, the more likely they are to attend college. However, for women, higher college wage premia have an insignificant effect on the decision to attend college and this effect is robust to a variety of specifications. In addition, we find some support for the comparative advantage hypothesis suggesting that individuals self-select themselves into that level of education which best utilizes their talents. [close]
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Banerjee, Abhijit, Shawn Cole, Esther Duflo and Leigh Linden (2007).
Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India.
In: The Quarterly Journal of Economics
122(3)
, 1235-1264
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper presents the results of two randomized experiments conducted in schools in urban India. A remedial education program hired young women to teach students lagging behind in basic literacy and numeracy skills. It increased average test scores of all children in treatment schools by 0.28 standard deviation, mostly due to large gains experienced by children at the bottom of the test-score distribution. A computer-assisted learning program focusing on math increased math scores by 0.47 standard deviation. One year after the programs were over, initial gains remained significant for targeted children, but they faded to about 0.10 standard deviation. [close]
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Bansak, Cynthia and Brian Chesum (2009).
How Do Remittances Affect Human Capital Formation of School-Age Boys and Girls?.
In: American Economic Review
99(2)
, 145-148
.
Link.
[close]
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Becker, Gary (1985).
Human Capital, Effort and Sexual Division of Labor.
In: Journal of Labor Economics
3(1)
, 33-58
.
Abstract.
Link.
Increasing returns from specialized human capital is a powerful force creating a division of labor in the allocation of time and investments in human capital between married men and married women. Moreover, since child care and housework are more effort intensive than leisure and other household activities, married women spend less effort on each hour of market work than married men working the same number of hours. Hence, married women have lower hourly earnings than married men with the same market human capital, and they economize on the effort expended on market work by seeking less demanding jobs. The responsibility of married women for child care and housework has major implications for earnings and occupational differences between men and women. [close]
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Becker, Sascha and Ludger Woessmann (2008).
Luther and the Girls: Religious Denomination and the Female Education Gap in Nineteenth-century Prussia.
In: Scandinavian Journal of Economics
110(4)
, 777-805
.
Abstract.
Link.
Martin Luther urged each town to have a girls’ school so that girls would learn to read the Gospel, evoking a surge of building girls’ schools in Protestant areas. Using county- and town-level data from the first Prussian census of 1816, we show that a larger share of Protestants decreased the gender gap in basic education. This result holds when using only the exogenous variation in Protestantism due to a county’s or town’s distance to Wittenberg, the birthplace of the Reformation. Similar results are found for the gender gap in literacy among the adult population in 1871. [close]
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Bedard, Kelly and Insook Cho (2010).
Early Gender Test Score Gaps across OECD Countries.
In: Economics of Education Review
29(3)
, 348-363
.
Abstract.
Link.
The results reported in this paper contribute to the debate about gender skill gaps in at least three ways. First, we document the large differences in early gender gaps across developed countries using a large scale, modern, representative data source. Second, we show that countries with pro-female sorting, countries that place girls in classes with higher than average scores have smaller gender test score gaps, at least in math. Third, we show that the degree of academic tracking is correlated with observed gender gaps across developed countries. [close]
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Behrman, Jere and Mark Rosenzweig (2002).
Does Increasing Women's Schooling Raise the Schooling of the Next Generation?.
In: American Economic Review
92(1)
, 323-334
.
Abstract.
Link.
New data on identical female and male twins are used to estimate the impact of increasing parental schooling on child schooling that incorporates the existence of unmeasured heritable traits and marital sorting. These data yield cross sectional estimates that are consistent with previous studies of the impact of parental schooling on child schooling attainment. However, when twinning is exploited to estimate intergenerational schooling effects, the results are strikingly different. Controlling for women's earnings and childrearing endowments and husband's endowments and schooling leads to a marginally negative rather than a significantly positive coefficient for mother's schooling in the determination of child schooling. [close]
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Behrman, Jere, Andrew Foster, Mark Rosenzweig and Prem Vashishtha (1999).
Women's Schooling, Home Teaching, and Economic Growth.
In: Journal of Political Economy
107(4)
, 682-714
.
Abstract.
Link.
The hypothesis that increases in the schooling of women enhance the human capital of the next generation and thus make a unique contribution to economic growth is assessed on the basis of data describing green revolution India. Estimates are obtained that indicate that a component of the significant and positive relationship between maternal literacy and child schooling in the Indian setting reflects the productivity effect of home teaching and that the existence of this effect, combined with the increase in returns to schooling for men, importantly underlies the expansion of female literacy following the onset of the green revolution. [close]
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Behrman, Jere, Mark Rosenzweig and Paul Taubman (1994).
Endowments and the Allocation of Schooling in the Family and in the Marriage Market: The Twins Experiment.
In: Journal of Political Economy
102(6)
, 1131-1174
.
Abstract.
Link.
We show how comparisons between the within-twin correlations of human capital outcomes across identical and nonidentical twins can be used to identify the variability in the individual-specific component of endowments and the responsiveness of schooling to individual-specific endowments in the family and in the marriage market even when schooling is measured with error. Estimates from two twins samples indicate that 27 (42) percent of the variance in log earnings (obesity) is due to variability in individual-specific endowments, allocations of schooling reinforce specific endowments, and individual-specific earnings endowments of men and their wives' schooling are negatively associated. [close]
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Belfield, Clive and John Heywood (2008).
Performance Pay for Teachers: Determinants and Consequences.
In: Economics of Education Review
27(3)
, 243-252
.
Abstract.
Link.
Theory and evidence on performance-related pay for teaching remain inconclusive. Teachers will respond to rewards, but an appropriate reward structure may not be devised because education is a collaborative endeavor. Here we test three hypotheses: performance-related pay among teachers is more likely to be observed when there are evident indicators of team production; teachers receiving performance pay will earn more in total than otherwise equal teachers without performance pay; and teachers receiving performance pay should have higher job satisfaction. We use the Schools and Staffing Survey (2000) to test each hypothesis. Team production does strongly predict performance-related pay, and that such pay does boost earnings, but that job satisfaction is lower for those who receive such pay awards. [close]
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Billger, Sherrilyn (2009).
On Reconstructing School Segregation: The Efficacy and Equity of Single-Sex Schooling.
In: Economics of Education Review
28(3)
, 393-402
.
Abstract.
Link.
A change to Title IX has spurred new single-sex public schooling in the US. Until recently, nearly all gender-segregated schools were private, and comprehensive data for public school comparisons are not yet available. To investigate the effects of single-sex education, I focus on within private sector comparisons, and additionally address selection bias using an index comparing expectations to outcomes and quantile regressions. Compared to graduates from private coed schools, girls’ school alumnae are no more likely to pursue college degrees, and both genders are less likely to meet their own educational expectations. However, single-sex schooling may support gender equity, as single-sex schools yield the least segregated college major choices. On the other hand, higher mean starting salaries among single-sex school graduates do not persistent in regression results. Much of the benefit from single-sex schooling accrues to students already likely to succeed, but selection bias does not explain all gains. There are some benefits for African-American men and low income students. [close]
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Black, Sandra and Chinhui Juhn (2000).
The Rise of Female Professionals: Are Women Responding To Skill Demand?.
In: American Economic Review
90(2)
, 450-455
.
Link.
[close]
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Black, Sandra, Paul Devereux and Kjell Salvanes (2008).
Staying in the Classroom and out of the Maternity Ward? The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Births.
In: The Economic Journal
118(530)
, 1025-1054
.
Abstract.
Link.
This article investigates whether increasing mandatory educational attainment through compulsory schooling legislation encourages women to delay childbearing. We use variation induced by changes in compulsory schooling laws in both the US and Norway to estimate the effect in two very different institutional environments. We find evidence that increased compulsory schooling does in fact reduce the incidence of teenage childbearing in both the US and Norway, and these estimates are quite robust to various specification checks. These results suggest that legislation aimed at improving educational outcomes may have spillover effects onto the fertility decisions of teenagers. [close]
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Blundell, Richard, Amanda Goslingz, Hidehiko Ichimurax and Costas Meghir (2007).
Changes in the Distribution of Male and Female Wages Accounting for Employment Composition Using Bounds.
In: Econometrica
75(49)
, 323-363
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper examines changes in the distribution of wages using bounds to allow for the impact of nonrandom selection into work. We show that worst case bounds can be informative. However, because employment rates in the United Kingdom are often low, they are not informative about changes in educational or gender wage differentials. Thus we explore ways to tighten these bounds using restrictions motivated from economic theory. With these assumptions, we find convincing evidence of all increase in inequality within education groups, changes in educational differentials, and increases in the relative wages of women. [close]
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Bonesronning, Hans (2008).
The Effect of Grading Practices on Gender Differences in Academic Performance.
In: Bulletin of Economic Research
60(3)
, 245-264
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper adds to the debate about the sources of the gender gaps in student outcomes by highlighting explanations related to interactions between teachers and students. The evidence comes from the lower secondary school in Norway. The teachers' grading practices are the focal point of the analysis. First, it is shown that girls are exposed to easier grading than boys. Thereafter, evidence is provided that both boys and girls are negatively affected when the teacher practises easy grading. The boys' responses to easy grading are more uniformly negative than the girls' responses. Some exploratory analyses that make use of information about the students' school motivations are provided to make sense of these findings. [close]
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Bowlus, Audra and Louise Grogan (2009).
Gender Wage Differentials, Job Search, and Part-Time Employment in the UK.
In: Oxford Economic Papers
61(2)
, 275-303
.
Abstract.
Link.
Gender wage differentials in the UK are examined using a general equilibrium search model. This framework permits an assessment of male-female differences in labour market behaviour on gender wage differentials. The model captures worker decisions leading to transitions between labour market states and jobs, and firm responses to such transitions via wage offers. Special attention is paid to part-time workers, who have substantially less labour market attachment than full-time workers. The results indicate labour market behaviour differences play a role in determining gender wage differentials within education levels. The importance of these differences varies by education level and hours of work. These findings have implications for policies aimed at reducing gender wage differentials, and for researchers assessing the causes of gender wage differentials in situations where a large fraction of women work part-time. [close]
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Browning, Martin (1992).
Children and Household Economic Behavior.
In: Journal of Economic Literature
30(3)
, 1434-1475
.
Link.
[close]
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Butcher, Kristin and Anne Case (1994).
The Effect of Sibling Sex Composition on Women's Education and Earnings.
In: Quarterly Journal of Economics
109(3)
, 531-563
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper documents the impact of siblings on the education of men and women born in the United States between 1920 and 1965. We examine the effect of the number and sex composition of a boy or girl's siblings on that child's educational attainment. We find that throughout the century women's educational choices have been systematically affected by the sex composition of her siblings, and that men's choices have not. Women raised only with brothers have received on average significantly more education than women raised with any sisters, controlling for household size. Since sibling sex composition affects women's educational attainment and plausibly may be unrelated to other determinants of earnings, it may. provide a useful instrument for education in earnings functions for women. Our results suggest that standard estimates significantly underestimate the return to schooling for women. [close]
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Carrell, Scott E., Marianne E. Page and James E. West (2010).
Sex and Science: How Professor Gender Perpetuates the Gender Gap.
In: Quarterly Journal of Economics
125(3)
, 1101-1144
.
Abstract.
Link.
Why aren't there more women in science? This paper begins to shed light on this question by exploiting data from the U.S. Air Force Academy, where students are randomly assigned to professors for a wide variety of mandatory standardized courses. We focus on the role of professor gender. Our results suggest that although professor gender has little impact on male students, it has a powerful effect on female students' performance in math and science classes, and high-performing female students' likelihood of taking future math and science courses, and graduating with a STEM degree. The estimates are largest for students whose SAT math scores are in the top 5% of the national distribution. The gender gap in course grades and STEM majors is eradicated when high-performing female students are assigned to female professors in mandatory introductory math and science coursework. [close]
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Casey, Teresa and Christian Dustman (2008).
Intergenerational Transmission of Language Capital and Economic Outcomes.
In: The Journal of Human Resources
43(3)
, 660-687
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper investigates the intergenerational transmission of language capital among immigrants, and the effect of language deficiencies on the economic performance of second-generation immigrants. Using a long panel that oversamples immigrants, we can follow their children after they have left the parental home. Our results show a sizeable significant association between parents’ and children’s fluency, conditional on parental and family characteristics. We find that language deficiencies of the second generation are associated with poorer labor market outcomes for females only. Finally, we find a strong relationship between parental fluency and female labor market outcomes, which works through the child’s language proficiency. [close]
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Castagnetti, Carolina and Luisa Rosti (2009).
Effort Allocation in Tournaments: The Effect of Gender on Academic Performance in Italian Universities.
In: Economics of Education Review
28(3)
, 357-369
.
Abstract.
Link.
We consider the academic performance of Italian university graduates and their labor market position 3 years after graduation. Our data confirm the common finding that female students outperform male students in academia but are overcome in the labor market. Assuming that academic competition is fair and that individual talent is equally distributed by gender, we suggest that the gender gap evident in degree scores is endogenously due to the greater effort exerted by female students. We find that females face a greater increase in labor market returns from signalling through academic performance. This higher prize explains the greater effort exerted by females and the higher probability of winning the academic competition. [close]
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Chen, Ben-Loon, Shin-Kun Peng and Ping Wang (2009).
Intergenerational Human Capital Evolution, Local Public Good Preferences, and Stratification.
In: Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control
33(3)
, 745-757
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper considers heterogeneities in preferences over the local public good, human capital formation, and residential locations as primary underlying forces of economic stratification in an endogenously growing economy. We construct a two-period overlapping-generations model with two regions and various forms of human capital externalities where altruistic agents determine intertemporal allocation of time, investment in a child's education and residential location. We fully characterize a balanced growth equilibrium with no migration across generations to elaborate on how changes in preference, human capital accumulation, production, and interregional commuting parameters may affect the equilibrium stratification outcome in the long run. [close]
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Chen, Hung-Ju (2009).
A Brain Gain or a Brain Drain? Migration, Endogenous Fertility, and Human Capital Formation.
In: Economic Inquiry
47(4)
, 766-782
.
Abstract.
Link.
This study develops an endogenous growth model of migration to analyze the impact of international migration on the economic growth of a source country. When making their fertility and education decisions, adults may have the option of migrating to a foreign country. We find that changes in the migration probability or the extent of migration costs will lead to a trade-off between the quality and the quantity of children. When a host country cannot differentiate between the abilities of migrants, an increase in migration probability will raise a source country’s economic growth. When low- and high-skilled workers are faced with different migration probabilities, allowing more low-skilled workers to emigrate will cause a “brain gain” in both the short run and the long run. However, relaxation of restrictions on the emigration of high-skilled workers will damage economic growth in the long run, although a brain gain may occur in the short run. [close]
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Cho, Donghun (2007).
The Role of High School Performance in Explaining Women's Rising College Enrollment.
In: Economics of Education Review
26(4)
, 450-462
.
Abstract.
Link.
While male high school graduates were more likely to enroll in college than their female counterparts three decades ago, this pattern reversed by the late 1980s. The gender gap in college attendance rates has continued to increase ever since. In this paper, I examine several factors that might affect the diverging college entrance patterns for young men and women. Using three nationally representative longitudinal data sets of high school students, I find that women's high school performance—as measured by test scores and the number of math and science courses taken—increased more rapidly then men's over the past three decades. A simple decomposition exercise indicates that women's greater advances in high school achievement can account for more than half of the change in the college enrollment gender gap over the past three decades. Using a simple theoretical model, I show that the contribution of women's superior performance in high school to women's increased college attendance combines both the effects of exogenous changes in how high schools prepare women for college and changes in high school performance induced by women's optimizing responses to increased labor market opportunities. [close]
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Chuang, Hwei-Lin and Hsih-Yin Lee (2003).
The Return on Women's Human Capital and the Role of Male Attitudes toward Working Wives - Gender Roles, Work Interruptions and Women's Earnings in Taiwan.
In: American Journal of Economics and Sociology
62(2)
, 435-459
.
Abstract.
Link.
This study empirically investigates women's work interruption behavior in Taiwan and this behavior's influence on women's earnings. The most striking finding from our analysis of women's work history patterns is that a husband's negative attitude toward a working wife will more greatly discourage his wife from attaching to the labor market than will the presence of young children in the family. Thus, it is critical to educate men to give up their traditional attitudes toward gender roles in order to raise the female labor force participation rate in Taiwan. As to the effect of work interruption on earnings, a depreciation rate of 2.8% is found for women with at least a high-school level of education, while no penalty of foregone experience is shown for less-educated women. Since this depreciation effect may discourage women froth re-entering the labor market, government programs encouraging self-employment should be helpful, as self-employed women find it easier to overcome the conflict between family obligations and work needs. [close]
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Dee, Thomas (2007).
Teachers and the Gender Gaps in Student Achievement.
In: Journal of Human Resources
42(3)
, 528-554
.
Abstract.
Link.
A prominent class of explanations for the gender gaps in student outcomes focuses on the interactions between students and teachers. In this study, I examine whether assignment to a same-gender teacher influences student achievement, teacher perceptions of student performance, and student engagement. This study's identification strategy exploits a unique matched-pairs feature of a major longitudinal study, which provides contemporaneous data on student outcomes in two different subjects. Within-student comparisons indicate that assignment to a same-gender teacher significantly improves the achievement of both girls and boys as well as teacher perceptions of student performance and student engagement with the teacher's subject. [close]
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Diprete, Thomas and Claudia Buchmann (2006).
Gender-Specific Trends in the Value of Education and the Emerging Gender Gap in College Completion.
In: Demography
43(1)
, 01-24
.
Abstract.
Link.
Analysis of March Current Population Survey data from 1964 through 2002 shows that white women overtook white men in their rates of college completion and that this phenomenon occurred during a period in which women standard-of-living gains from college completion grew at a faster rate than those for men. We assess whether these trends are related to changes in the value of education for men and women in terms of earnings returns to higher education, the probability of getting and staying married, education-related differences in family standard of living, and insurance against living in poverty. Although returns to a college education in the form of earnings remained higher for women than for men over the entire period, trends in these returns do not provide a plausible explanation for gender-specific trends in college completion. But when broader measures of material well-being are taken into account, women returns to higher education appear to have risen faster than those of men. [close]
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Dohmen, Thomas and Armin Falk (2011).
Performance Pay and Multidimensional Sorting: Productivity, Preferences, and Gender.
In: American Economic Review
101(2)
, 556-590
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper studies the impact of incentives on worker self-selection in a controlled laboratory experiment. Subjects face the choice between a fixed and a variable payment scheme. Depending on the treatment, the variable payment is a piece rate, a tournament, or a revenue-sharing scheme. We find that output is higher in the variable-payment schemes compared to the fixed-payment scheme. This difference is largely driven by productivity sorting. In addition, different incentive schemes systematically attract individuals with different attitudes, such as willingness to take risks and relative self-assessment as well as gender, which underlines the importance of multidimensional sorting. [close]
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Dougherty, Christopher (2005).
Why Are the Returns to Schooling Higher for Women than for Men?.
In: Journal of Human Resources
40(4)
, 969-988
.
Abstract.
Link.
Many studies have found that the impact of schooling on earnings is greater for females than for males, despite the fact that females tend to earn less, both absolutely and controlling for personal characteristics. This study investigates possible reasons for this effect, using data front the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-. One explanation is that education appears to have a double effect on the earnings of women. It increases their skills and productivity, as it does with men, and in addition it appears to reduce the gap in male and female earnings attributable to factors such as discrimination, tastes, and circumstances. The latter appear to account for about half of the differential in the returns to schooling. [close]
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Eisenkopf, Gerald, Zohal Hessami, Urs Fischbacher and Heinrich W. Ursprung (2015).
Academic performance and single-sex schooling: Evidence from a natural experiment in Switzerland.
In: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
115
, 123-143
.
Abstract.
Link.
We study the effects of random assignment to coeducational and single-sex classes on the academic performance of female high school students who all face the same curriculum. The students’ academic performance is observed over a time period of up to four years. Our estimation results show that single-sex schooling improves the performance of female students in mathematics. This positive effect is particularly large for female students with high ex-ante ability. An accompanying survey reveals that single-sex schooling also strengthens female students’ self-confidence and renders the self-assessment of their mathematics skills more level-headed. [close]
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Elder, Todd, John Goddeeris and Steven Haider (2010).
Unexplained Gaps and Oaxaca-Blinder Decompositions.
In: Labour Economics
17(1)
, 284-290
.
Abstract.
Link.
We analyze four methods to measure unexplained gaps in mean outcomes: three decompositions based on the seminal work of Oaxaca (1973) and Blinder (1973) and an approach involving a seemingly naïve regression that includes a group indicator variable. Our analysis yields two principal findings. We show that the coefficient on a group indicator variable from an OLS regression is an attractive approach for obtaining a single measure of the unexplained gap. We also show that a commonly-used pooling decomposition systematically overstates the contribution of observable characteristics to mean outcome differences when compared to OLS regression, therefore understating unexplained differences. We then provide three empirical examples that explore the practical importance of our analytic results. [close]
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Ellison, Glenn and Ashley Swanson (2010).
The Gender Gap in Secondary School Mathematics at High Achievement Levels: Evidence from the American Mathematics Competitions.
In: Journal of Economic Perspectives
24(2)
, 109-128
.
Link.
[close]
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Fahr, René and Uwe Sunde (2009).
Gender Differentials in Skill Use and Skill Formation in the Aftermath of Vocational Training.
In: Applied Economics Letters
16(9)
, 885-889
.
Abstract.
Link.
This article investigates gender differentials in skill-use and training participation in the aftermath of vocational training in Germany. We find that women use less of their apprenticeship skills than men once they have left their apprenticeship occupation. Moreover, women are significantly less likely to obtain further formal training upon completing apprenticeship than men, whether staying within the same occupation or not. [close]
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Fernández, Raquel, Alessandra Fogli, and Claudia Olivetti (2004).
Mothers and Sons: Preference Formation and Female Labor Force Dynamics.
In: Quarterly Journal of Economics
119(4)
, 1249-1299
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper argues that the growing presence of a new type of man—one brought up in a family in which the mother worked—has been a significant factor in the increase in female labor force participation over time. We present cross-sectional evidence showing that the wives of men whose mothers worked are themselves significantly more likely to work. We use variation in the importance of World War II as a shock to women's labor force participation—as proxied by variation in the male draft rate across U. S. states—to provide evidence in support of the intergenerational consequences of our propagation mechanism. [close]
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Field, Erica and Attila Ambrus (2008).
Early Marriage, Age of Menarche, and Female Schooling Attainment in Bangladesh.
In: Journal of Political Economy
116(5)
, 881-930
.
Abstract.
Link.
Using data from rural Bangladesh, we explore the hypothesis that women attain less schooling as a result of social and financial pressure to marry young. We isolate the causal effect of marriage timing using age of menarche as an instrumental variable. Our results indicate that each additional year that marriage is delayed is associated with 0.22 additional year of schooling and 5.6 percent higher literacy. Delayed marriage is also associated with an increase in use of preventive health services. In the context of competitive marriage markets, we use the above results to obtain estimates of the change in equilibrium female education that would arise from introducing age of consent laws. [close]
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Flyer, Fredrick and Sherwin Rosen (1997).
The New Economics of Teachers and Education.
In: Journal of Labor Economics
15(1)
, 104-139
.
Abstract.
Link.
Rapidly growing costs of elementary and secondary education are studied in the context of the rising value of women's time. The dramatic increase in direct costs of education per student in the past 3 decades is empirically linked to increasing demand and utilization of teacher and staff inputs, attributable to growing market opportunities for women and changes in the structure of families. On the supply side, the "flexibility option" that female teachers who take temporary leaves do not suffer subsequent wage loss upon reentry, is shown to be an important attraction of the teaching profession to women. [close]
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Fryer, Roland G. and Steven D. Levitt (2010).
An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in Mathematics.
In: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
2(2)
, 210-240
.
Abstract.
Link.
We document and analyze the emergence of a substantial gender gap in mathematics in the early years of schooling using a large, recent, and nationally representative panel of US children. There are no mean differences between boys and girls upon entry to school, but girls lose more than two-tenths of a standard deviation relative to boys over the first six years of school. The ground lost by girls relative to boys is roughly half as large as the black-white test score gap that appears over these same ages. We document the presence of this gender math gap across every strata of society. We explore a wide range of possible explanations in the data, including less investment by girls in math, low parental expectations, and biased tests, but find little support for these theories. Moving to cross-country comparisons, we find earlier results linking the gender gap in math to measures of gender equality are sensitive to the inclusion of Muslim countries, where, in spite of women's low status, there is little or no gender gap in math. [close]
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Fryer, Roland G. and Steven D. Levitt (2010).
An Empirical Analysis of the Gender Gap in Mathematics.
In: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
2(2)
, 210-240
.
Abstract.
Link.
We document and analyze the emergence of a substantial gender gap in mathematics in the early years of schooling using a large, recent, and nationally representative panel of US children. There are no mean differences between boys and girls upon entry to school, but girls lose more than two-tenths of a standard deviation relative to boys over the first six years of school. The ground lost by girls relative to boys is roughly half as large as the black-white test score gap that appears over these same ages. We document the presence of this gender math gap across every strata of society. We explore a wide range of possible explanations in the data, including less investment by girls in math, low parental expectations, and biased tests, but find little support for these theories. Moving to cross-country comparisons, we find earlier results linking the gender gap in math to measures of gender equality are sensitive to the inclusion of Muslim countries, where, in spite of women's low status, there is little or no gender gap in math. [close]
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Goldin, Claudia (1986).
Monitoring Costs and Occupational Segregation by Sex: A Historical Analysis.
In: Journal of Labor Economics
4(1)
, 1-27
.
Abstract.
Link.
Female manufacturing workers around 1900 were far more likely to be paid by the piece and were rarely employed at the same occupation in the same firm as males. These and related aspects of work organization can be understood through a model in which workers shirk, monitoring is costly, and males and females have different turnover rates. Employers adopt either piece rates or deferred payment. Occupational segregation by sex and differences in earnings result even if workers are equally productive. Establishment-level data on supervising male and female workers in time- and piece-rate positions are examined. [close]
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Goldin, Claudia and Lawrence F. Katz (2002).
The Power of the Pill: Oral Contraceptives and Women’s Career and Marriage Decisions.
In: Journal of Political Economy
110(4)
, 730-770
.
Abstract.
Link.
The fraction of U.S. college graduate women entering professional programs increased substantially just after 1970, and the age at first marriage among all U.S. college graduate women began to soar around the same year. We explore the relationship between these two changes and the diffusion of the birth control pill (“the pill”) among young, unmarried college graduate women. Although the pill was approved in 1960 by the Food and Drug Administration and spread rapidly among married women, it did not diffuse among young, single women until the late 1960s after state law changes reduced the age of majority and extended “mature minor” decisions. We present both descriptive time series and formal econometric evidence that exploit cross‐state and cross‐cohort variation in pill availability to young, unmarried women, establishing the “power of the pill” in lowering the costs of long‐duration professional education for women and raising the age at first marriage. [close]
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Guiso, Luigi, Ferdinando Monte, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales (2008).
Culture, Gender, and Math.
In: Science
320(5880)
, 1164-1165
.
Abstract.
Link.
Analysis of PISA results suggests that the gender gap in math scores disappears in countries with a more gender-equal culture. [close]
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Hajj, Mandana and Ugo Panizza (2009).
Religion and Education Gender Gap: Are Muslims Different?.
In: Economics of Education Review
28(3)
, 337-344
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper uses individual-level data and a differences-in-differences estimation strategy to test whether the education gender gap of Muslims is different from that of Christians. In particular, the paper uses data for young Lebanese and shows that, other things equal, girls (both Muslim and Christian) tend to receive more education than boys and that there is no difference between the education gender gap of Muslims and Christians. Therefore, the paper finds no support for the hypothesis that Muslims discriminate against female education. [close]
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Han, Li and Tao Li (2009).
The Gender Difference of Peer Influence in Higher Education.
In: Economics of Education Review
28(1)
, 129-134
.
Abstract.
Link.
Investigations of the existence of residential peer effects in higher education has shown mixed results. Using data from a Chinese college, we find no evidence of robust residential peer effects. Using the same data we find evidence that females respond to peer influences, whereas males do not, consistent with social psychology theories that females are more influenced by peers. [close]
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Heckman, James and Paul LaFontaine (2010).
The American High School Graduation Rate: Trends and Levels.
In: Review of Economics and Statistics
92(2)
, 244-262
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper applies a unified methodology to multiple data sets to estimate both the levels and trends in U.S. high school graduation rates. We establish that (a) the true rate is substantially lower than widely used measures, (b) it peaked in the early 1970s, (c) majority-minority differentials are substantial and have not converged for 35 years, (d) lower post-1970 rates are not solely due to increasing immigrant and minority populations, (e) our findings explain part of the slowdown in college attendance and rising college wage premiums, and (f) widening graduation differentials by gender help explain increasing male-female college attendance gaps. [close]
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Hersch, Joni (1991).
Male-Female Differences in Hourly Wages - The Role of Human-Capital, Working-Conditions, and Housework.
In: Industrial and Labor-Relations Review
44(4)
, 746-759
.
Abstract.
Link.
This study uses a new data set from a 1986 survey of workers to examine simultaneously the wage effects of human capital, household responsibilities, working conditions, and on-the-job training. The analysis suggests that household responsibilities had a negative effect on women's earnings, but the unexplained difference between the earnings of men and women is not greatly reduced by inclusion in the explanatory model of information on either housework or working conditions. The presence of children appears to have had a positive effect on the wages of both men and women. [close]
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Hill, Elizabeth (2001).
Post-School-Age Training among Women: Training Methods and Labor Market Outcomes at Older Ages.
In: Economisc of Education Review
20(2)
, 181-191
.
Abstract.
Link.
This study uses the NLS Mature Women's Cohort to examine labor market effects of education and training on women at pre-retirement ages, comparing training methods: formal education, on-the-job training, and other training. Results show that younger, more educated women tend to train more than other women and that some women appear in a 'training track'. While both education and on-the-job training are associated with higher wage levels, on-the-job training is most strongly associated with wage growth. Women who acquire training as adults tend to work at older ages. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. [close]
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Hill, Elizabeth (1995).
Labor Market Effects of Women's Post-School-Age Training.
In: Industrial and Labor Relations Review
49(1)
, 138-149
.
Abstract.
Link.
Using data from the 1984 NLS Mature Women's Cohort, this study investigates whether post-school-age training (defined as both formal education and other forms of training received after the end of formal schooling) affected women's wages and labor force participation. The author analyzes the association between training and wage changes over the years 1967 (when the women in the sample ranged in age from 30 to 44) through 1984 (when they had reached ages 47 to 61) and compares labor force participation in 1984 between women who had obtained post-school-age training and those who had not. Women who received post-school-age training experienced a greater rise in wages and participated in the labor force at older ages than did women who received no training. [close]
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Hoffmann, Florian and Philip Oreopoulos (2009).
A Professor Like Me: The Influence of Instructor Gender on College Achievement.
In: Journal of Human Ressources
44(2)
, 479-494
.
Abstract.
Link.
Many wonder whether teacher gender plays an important role in higher education by influencing student achievement and subject interest. The data used in this paper help identify average effects from male and female college students assigned to male or female teachers. We find instructor gender plays only a minor role in determining college student achievement. Nevertheless, the small effects provide evidence that gender role models matter to some college students. A same-sex instructor increases average grade performance by at most 5 percent of its standard deviation and decreases the likelihood of dropping a class by 1.2 percentage points. [close]
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Holmlund, Helena and Krister Sund (2008).
Is the Gender Gap in School Performance Affected by the Sex of the Teacher?.
In: Labour Economics
15(1)
, 37-53
.
Abstract.
Link.
Girls outperform boys in school. We investigate whether the gender performance gap can be attributed to the fact that the teacher profession is female dominated, that is, is there a causal effect on student outcomes from having a same-sex teacher? Using data on upper-secondary school students and their teachers from the municipality of Stockholm, Sweden, we find that the gender performance differential is larger in subjects where the share of female teachers is higher. We argue, however, that this effect can not be interpreted as causal, mainly due to teacher selection into different subjects and non-random student-teacher matching. Exploring the fact that teacher turnover and student mobility give rise to variation in teacher's gender within student and subject, we estimate the effect on student outcomes of changing to a teacher of the same sex. We find no strong support for our initial hypothesis that a same-sex teacher improves student outcomes. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. [close]
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Humlum, Maria Knoth, Anne Brink Nandrup and Nina Smith (2017).
Closing or Reproducing the Gender Gap? Parental Transmission, Social Norms and Education Choice.
IZA Discussion Paper / No:10790.
Abstract.
Link.
Over the last decade, the economic literature has increasingly focused on the importance
of gender identity and sticky gender norms in an attempt to explain the persistence of the
gender gaps. Using detailed register data on the latest cohorts of Danish labour market
entrants, this paper examines the intergenerational correlation in gender-stereotypical
choice of education. Although to some extent picking up inherited and acquired skills,
our results suggest that if parents exhibit gender stereotypical labour market behaviour,
children of the same sex are more likely to choose a gender stereotypical education. The
associations are strongest for sons. Exploiting the detailed nature of our data, we use birth
order and sibling sex composition to shed light on the potential channels through which
gender differences in educational preferences are transmitted across generations. We
propose that such transmissions may attenuate the final closing of the gender gap. [close]
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Humlum, Maria Knoth, Jannie H.G. Kristoffersen and Rune Vejlin (2017).
College admissions decisions, educational outcomes, and family formation.
In: Labour Economics
48
, 215-230
.
Abstract.
Link.
The level of progression of an individual’s educational or labor market career is a potentially important factor for family formation decisions. We analyze the relationship between the timing of college enrollment, educational outcomes, and the timing of family formation decisions in early adulthood. We use variation in college admission requirements to shed light on this issue. We employ a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effects of being above the admission requirement for one’s preferred college program on college enrollment decisions and the timing of family formation. Based on the analysis on enrollment and auxiliary analyses on labor market participation and earnings, we find that being above the admission requirement mainly affects the timing of college enrollment and not the college-going decision. Being above the admission requirement speeds up college enrollment, college completion and labor market entry. We find that being above the admission requirement has substantial effects on the timing of family formation, for example being above the admission requirement increases the number of children 8 years after year of application by about 0.1 corresponding to an increase of about 40 percent. Our results suggest that career postponements such as delays in the educational system can have large effects on family decision-making. [close]
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Husain, Muna and Daniel Millimet (2009).
The Mythical 'Boy Crisis'?.
In: Economics of Education Review
28(1)
, 38-48
.
Abstract.
Link.
The popular press has put forth the idea that the US educational system is experiencing a “boy crisis,” where boys are losing ground to girls across multiple dimensions. Here, we analyze these claims in the context of math and reading achievement during early primary school. We reach two conclusions. First, white boys outperform white girls in math across virtually the entire distribution by the end of third grade; there is less evidence for other races. Second, boys lag behind girls in reading at the start of kindergarten and at the end of third grade across all races, but only the lowest-achieving boys lose ground over the first 4 years; boys gain ground between first and third grades. [close]
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Jacob, Brian (2002).
Where the Boys Aren't: Non-cognitive Skills, Returns To School and the Gender Gap in Higher Education.
In: Economics of Education Review
21(6)
, 589-598
.
Abstract.
Link.
Nearly 60 percent of college students today are women. Using longitudinal data on a nationally representative cohort of eighth grade students in 1988. I examine two potential explanations for the differential attendance rates of men and women-returns to schooling and non-cognitive skills, The attendance gap is roughly five percentage points for all high school graduates. Conditional on attendance, however. there are few differences in type of college, enrollment status or selectivity of institution. The majority of the attendance gap can be explained by differences in the characteristics of men and women, despite some gender differences in the determinants of college attendance. I find that higher non-cognitive skills and college premiums among women account for nearly 90 percent of the gender gap in higher education. Interestingly, non-cognitive factors continue to influence college enrollment after controlling for high school achievement. [close]
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Joensen, Juanna Schrøter and Helena Skyt Nielsen (2016).
Mathematics and Gender: Heterogeneity in Causes and Consequences.
In: Economic Journal
126(593)
, 1129-1163
.
Abstract.
Link.
We exploit an institutional reduction in the costs of acquiring advanced high school Mathematics to assess the causes and consequences of fewer girls choosing advanced Mathematics. Girls at the top and boys at the middle of the Mathematics-ability-distribution took more Mathematics because of the cost reduction. We estimate a positive average earnings effect encompassing girls completing more advanced and more Mathematics intensive college degrees, choosing more competitive careers, and climbing higher up the corporate hierarchy. Encouraging more students to opt for advanced Mathematics has a sizeable positive earnings effect for girls, but no effect for boys at the margin.
[close]
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Katz-Gerro, Tally and Meir Yaish (2003).
Higher Education: Is More Better? Gender Differences in Labour Market Returns to Tertiary Education in Israel.
In: Oxford Review of Education
29(4)
, 571-592
.
Abstract.
Link.
Research on the transition from post-secondary education to the labour market refers mainly to differences between academic and vocational tracks in secondary education. In this paper we analyse Israeli data focusing on the transition from different levels of post secondary degrees and from various fields of study to the labour market. We examine three labour market outcomes: employment status, occupational prestige attainment, and job match. Data are drawn from a supplement to the 1983 Israeli Census, which includes a random sample of Israel's tertiary education degree holders ( vocational and academic). Our central finding is that men who work in female-dominated occupations get better returns than women, and women who work in male-dominated occupations get better returns than men. We discuss several explanations of this finding. [close]
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Klasen, Stephan (2002).
Low Schooling for Girls, Slower Growth for All? Cross-country Evidence on the Effect of Gender Inequality in Education on Economic Development.
In: World Bank Economic Review
16(3)
, 345-373
.
Abstract.
Link.
Using cross-country and panel regressions, this article investigates how gender inequality in education affects long-term economic growth. Such inequality is found to have an effect on economic growth that is robust to changes in specifications and controls for potential endogeneities. The results suggest that gender inequality in education directly affects economic growth by lowering the average level of human capital. In addition, growth is indirectly affected through the impact of gender inequality on investment and population growth. Some 0.4-0.9 percentage points of differences in annual per capita growth rates between East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East can be accounted for by differences in gender gaps in education between these regions. [close]
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Kleinjans, Kristin (2010).
Family Background and Gender Differences in Educational Expectations.
In: Economics Letters
107(2)
, 125-127
.
Abstract.
Link.
Socioeconomic outcomes of parents and their children are more correlated for sons than for daughters. This paper presents empirical evidence from Denmark that these gender differences result from different transmission mechanisms by separating the effects of parental education and income. [close]
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Kleinjans, Kristin (2009).
Do Gender Differences in Preferences for Competition Matter for Occupational Expectations?.
In: Journal of Economic Psychology
30(5)
, 701-710
.
Abstract.
Link.
Occupational segregation by gender is prevalent and can explain some of the gender wage gap. I empirically investigate a possible explanation for this segregation: the gender difference in preferences for competition, which in recent experimental studies has been found to affect economic outcomes. My findings suggest that women’s greater distaste for competition decreases educational achievement. It can also explain part of the gender segregation in occupational fields. Specifically, accounting for distaste for competition seems to reduce gender segregation in the fields of Law, Business & Management, Health, and Education. [close]
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Kokkelenberg, Edward, Michael Dillon and Sean Christy (2008).
The Effects of Class Size on Student Grades at a Public University.
In: Economics of Education Review
27(2)
, 221-233
.
Abstract.
Link.
We model how class size affects the grade higher education students earn and we test the model using an ordinal logit with and without fixed effects on over 760,000 undergraduate observations from a northeastern public university. We find that class size negatively affects grades for a variety of specifications and subsets of the data, as well as for the whole data set from this school. The specifications tested hold constant for academic department, peer effects (relative ability in class), student ability, level of student, level of course, gender, minority status, and other factors. Average grade point declines as class size increases, precipitously up to class sizes of twenty, and more gradually but monotonically through larger class sizes. The evidence is that this is not exclusively a small class effect. We conclude that there are diseconomies of scale associated with a deterioration of student outcomes as class sizes grow larger. The cost of this deterioration is not quantifiable with our data, as much of the costs are non-market costs and unobservable. Future studies of economies of scale in higher education need to address the traditional assumption of constant product quality. [close]
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Kooreman, Peter (2009).
The Early Inception of Labor Market Gender Differences.
In: Labour Economics
16(2)
, 135-139
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper analyzes gender differences in jobs while in school using school-class-based samples, a setting in which education differences, “glass ceilings”, and career interruptions due to parenthood are irrelevant. I find that in this early stage of life boys already earn substantially more than girls. The earnings gap cannot be explained by differences in participation rates and hours of work, nor by gender wage gaps within job types. It is entirely due to the fact that girls work more in job types with relatively low wages, in particular babysitting. During the period considered, 1984–2001, the gender patterns of jobs while in school largely remained unchanged. [close]
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Lagerlof, Nils-Petter (2003).
Gender Equality and Long-Run Growth.
In: Journal of Economic Growth
8(4)
, 403-426
.
Abstract.
Link.
This research suggests that long-run economic and demographic development in Europe can be better understood when related to long-term trends in gender equality, dating back to the spread of Christianity. We set up a growth model where gaps in female-to-male human capital arise at equilibrium through a coordination process. An economy which over a long stretch of time re-coordinates on continuously more equal equilibria-as one could argue happened in Europe-exhibits growth patterns qualitatively similar to that of Europe. [close]
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Lahiri, Sajal and Sharmistha Self (2007).
Gender Bias in Education: The Role of Inter-Household Externality, Dowry and Other Social Institutions.
In: Review of Development Economics
11(4)
, 591-606
.
Abstract.
Link.
We analyze gender bias in school enrollment by developing a two-period model where women become part of extended families of their in-laws. Each family decides how many sons and daughters are sent to school and thus become skilled. Gender bias occurs due to failure of the families to internalize inter-household externalities. "Groom-specific" dowry worsens the situation. Under "bride-specific" dowry, bias exists if and only if the skill premium in the labor market is bigger than that in the marriage market. A specific discriminatory "food-for-education" policy is shown to reduce bias, but increase total enrollment. [close]
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Lavy, Victor (2008).
Do Gender Stereotypes Reduce Girls' or Boys' Human Capital Outcomes? Evidence from a Natural Experiment.
In: Journal of Public Economics
92(10-11)
, 2083-2105
.
Abstract.
Link.
Schools and teachers are often said to be a source of stereotypes that harm girls. This paper tests for the existence of gender stereotyping and discrimination by public high-school teachers in Israel. It uses a natural experiment based on blind and non-blind scores that students receive on matriculation exams in their senior year. Using data on test results in several subjects in the humanities and sciences, I found, contrary to expectations, that male students face discrimination in each subject. These biases widen the female-male achievement difference because girls outperform boys in all subjects, except English, and at all levels of the curriculum. The bias is evident in all segments of the ability and performance distribution and is robust to various individual controls. Several explanations based on differential behavior between boys and girls are not supported empirically. However, the size of the difference is very sensitive to teachers' characteristics, suggesting that the bias against male students is the result of teachers', and not students', behavior. [close]
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Lavy, Victor and Analia Schlosser (2011).
Mechanisms and Impacts of Gender Peer Effects at School.
In: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
3(2)
, 1-33
.
Abstract.
Link.
We present in this paper evidence about the effects and mechanisms of gender peer effects in elementary, middle, and high schools. For identification, we rely on idiosyncratic variations in gender composition across adjacent cohorts within the same schools. We find that an increase in the proportion of girls improves boys and girls' cognitive outcomes. These academic gains are mediated through lower levels of classroom disruption and violence, improved inter-student and student-teacher relationships, and lessened teachers' fatigue. We find no effect on individual behavior, which suggests that the positive effects of girls on classroom environment are mostly due to compositional change. [close]
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Lee, Jungmin (2008).
Sibling Size and Investment in Children's Education: An Asian Instrument.
In: Journal of Population Economics
21(4)
, 855-875
.
Abstract.
Link.
This study estimates the trade-off between child quantity and quality by exploiting exogenous variation in fertility under son preferences. Under son preferences, both sibling size and fertility timing are determined depending on the first child’s gender, which is random as long as parents do not abort girls at their first childbearing. For the sample South Korean households, I find strong evidence of unobserved heterogeneity in preferences for child quantity and quality across households. The trade-off is not as strong as observed cross-sectional relationships would suggest. However, even after controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, a greater number of siblings have adverse effects on per-child investment in education, in particular, when fertility is high. [close]
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Lefgren, Lars and Frank McIntyre (2006).
The Relationship between Women's Education and Marriage Outcomes.
In: Journal of Labour Economics
24(4)
, 787-830
.
Abstract.
Link.
Using 2000 Census data, we describe the relationship between women's education and marriage outcomes. Women's education is strongly related to husband's income and marital status. This relationship is highly nonlinear and varies across the distribution of husband's earnings. Roughly half of the correlation between women's education and consumption operates through the marriage market. Using 1980 Census data and the quarter of birth instruments proposed by Angrist and Krueger, we find that women's education may have a positive causal effect on husband's earnings, though not on probability of marriage. [close]
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Liversage, Anika (2009).
Vital Conjunctures, Shifting Horizons: High-Skilled Female Immigrants Looking for Work.
In: Work Employment and Society
23(1)
, 120-141
.
Abstract.
Link.
Focusing on the underdeveloped field of high-skilled female migration, this article relies on life story interviews with high-skilled women immigrating for reasons other than work. The article conceptualizes migration as a `vital conjuncture', a critical life period in which both different futures and different identities are at stake, and shows how some women - mostly with skills from the natural sciences - were able to retain former professional identities. Other women, facing the threat of becoming `just housewives', found work in the higher-skilled sectors of the labour market in different ways: through re-educating themselves; by becoming `cultural brokers' for other immigrants; or by returning to their home country. Women unable to follow through on one of these four options lost claims to being high-skilled. The analysis contributes to our understanding of both high-skilled female migration and the centrality of identity in constraining or enabling movement within social structures. [close]
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Machin, Stephen and Sandra McNally (2005).
Gender and Student Achievement in English Schools.
In: Oxford Review of Education
21(3)
, 357-372
.
Abstract.
Link.
The widening gap between the average educational achievement of boys and girls has been the subject of much discussion. This gap is especially controversial for students taking national exams at the end of their compulsory education. However, the gender gap is also apparent at earlier and at later stages of education. In this paper, we analyse changes over time in the gender achievement gap at the different stages of compulsory education in English schools. We first use a combination of data sources to paint a picture of how gender gaps have evolved over time and in what context they are most marked. Then we consider possible explanations for the observed gender gaps. We look at the relevance of school inputs, teaching practice, and the examination system for explaining the gender gap. We also discuss the potential influence of wider social and economic changes as reflected, for example, in the much higher education levels of mothers relative to those of previous generations. Analysis of this issue is important in the context of research on the gender wage gap. However, it is also raises policy-relevant issues in relation to whether changes in the school system can effect a change in the gender gap in educational achievement. [close]
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Machin, Stephen, Sandra McNally, and Martina Viarengo (forthcoming).
Changing How Literacy Is Taught: Evidence on Synthetic Phonics.
In: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
21(3)
.
Abstract.
Link.
A significant number of people have very low levels of literacy in many OECD countries. This paper studies a national change in policy and practice in England that refocused the teaching of reading around "synthetic phonics". This was a low cost intervention that targeted the pedagogy of existing teachers. We evaluate the pilot and first phase of the national rollout. While strong initial effects tend to fade out on average, they persist for those with children with a higher initial propensity to struggle with reading. As a result, this programme helped narrow the gap between disadvantaged pupils and other groups. [close]
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Matsa, David A. and Amalia R. Miller (2013).
A Female Style in Corporate Leadership? Evidence from Quotas.
In: American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
5(3)
, 136-169
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper studies the impact of gender quotas for corporate board seats on corporate decisions. We examine the introduction of Norway's 2006 quota, comparing affected firms to other Nordic companies, public and private, that are unaffected by the rule. We find that affected firms undertake fewer workforce reductions than comparison firms, increasing relative labor costs and employment levels and reducing short-term profits. The effects are strongest among firms without female board members beforehand and are present even for boards with older and more experienced members afterward. The boards appear to be affecting corporate strategy in part by selecting like-minded executives. [close]
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McCrary, Justin and Heather Royer (2011).
The Effect of Female Education on Fertitlity and Infant Health: Evidence from School Entry Policies Using Exact Date of Birth.
In: American Economic Review
101(1)
, 158-195
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper uses age-at-school-entry policies to identify the effect of female education on fertility and infant health. We focus on sharp contrasts in schooling, fertility, and infant health between women born just before and after the school entry date. School entry policies affect female education and the quality of a woman's mate and have generally small, but possibly heterogeneous, effects on fertility and infant health. We argue that school entry policies manipulate primarily the education of young women at risk of dropping out of school. [close]
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McCrary, Justin and Heather Royer (2011).
The Effect of Female Education on Fertitlity and Infant Health: Evidence from School Entry Policies Using Exact Date of Birth.
In: American Economic Review
101(1)
, 158-195
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper uses age-at-school-entry policies to identify the effect of female education on fertility and infant health. We focus on sharp contrasts in schooling, fertility, and infant health between women born just before and after the school entry date. School entry policies affect female education and the quality of a woman's mate and have generally small, but possibly heterogeneous, effects on fertility and infant health. We argue that school entry policies manipulate primarily the education of young women at risk of dropping out of school. [close]
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McDonald, Judith and Robert Thornton (2007).
Do New Male and Female College Graduates Receive Unequal Pay?.
In: Journal of Human Resources
42(1)
, 32-48
.
Abstract.
Link.
We analyze the female-male gap in starting-salary offers for new college graduates using data from the annual surveys of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), unique (and proprietary) data that have not previously been used for this purpose. A major advantage of working with a data set on salaries for new college graduates is that we can remove the possible influence of gender differences in experience, promotions, job changes, and other factors on the salary gap. We find that as much as 95 percent of the overall gender gap in starting-salary offers can be explained by differences in college majors selected. [close]
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McNabb, Robert, Sarmistha Pal and Peter Sloane (2002).
Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: The Case of University Students in England and Wales.
In: Economica
69(275)
, 481-503
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper examines the determinants of gender differences in educational attainment using data for all university graduates. We find that, although women students perform better on average than their male counterparts, they are significantly less likely to obtain a first class degree. There is no evidence that this is because of differences in the types of subject male and female students study or in the institutions they attend, nor does it reflect differences in personal attributes, such as academic ability. Rather, it is differences in the way these factors affect academic achievement that give rise to gender differences in performance. [close]
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Mechtenberg, Lydia (2009).
Cheap Talk in the Classroom: How Biased Grading at School Explains Gender Differences in Achievements, Career Choices and Wages.
In: Review of Economic Studies
76(4)
, 1431-1459
.
Abstract.
Link.
In this paper, I provide a theoretical explanation for the gender differences in education and on the labour market that are observed empirically in most OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, including the US Within a cheap talk model of grading, I show that biased grading in schools results in (1) boys outperforming girls in maths and sciences, (2) boys having more top and more bottom achievers in maths and sciences than girls, (3) girls outperforming boys in reading literacy, (4) female graduates enrolling in university studies more often than male graduates, (5) the predominance of female students in arts and humanities at the university, (6) the predominance of male students in maths and sciences at the university and (7) the gender wage gap on the labour market for the highly educated. [close]
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Mincer, Jacob (1997).
The Production of Human Capital and the Life Cycle of Earnings: Variations on a Theme.
In: Journal of Labor Economics
15(1)
, 26-47
.
Abstract.
Link.
In this work I enquire into the empirical validity and some implications of Yoram Ben-Porath's insights. Section II answers the question, Are the shapes and magnitudes of growth in wage profiles largely attributable to human capital investments? Section III tests the proposition that over the working age capacity wages decline before observed wages do. Implied timing of labor supply provides the test. In Section IV implications are drawn from Ben-Porath's model for interpersonal differences and for the correlation between schooling and training. [close]
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Mincer, Jacob and Haim Ofek (1982).
Interrupted Work Careers: Depreciation and Restoration of Human Capital.
In: Journal of Labor Economics
17(1)
, 3-24
.
Abstract.
Link.
The quantitative effects and even the existence of a "human capital depreciation" phenomenon have been a subject of controversy in the recent literature. Prior work, however, was largely cross-sectional and the longitudinal dimension, if any, was retrospective. Using longitudinal panel data (on married women in NLS) we have now established that real wages at reentry are, indeed, lower than at the point of labor force withdrawal, and the decline in wages is greater, the longer the interruption. Another striking finding is a relatively rapid growth in wages after the return to work. This rapid growth appears to reflect the restoration (or "repair") of previously eroded human capital. The phenomenon of "depreciation" and "restoration" is also visible in data for immigrants to the United States. However, while immigrants eventually catch up with and often surpass natives, returnees from the non-market do not fully restore their earnings potential. [close]
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Mincer, Jacob and Solomon Polachek (1974).
Family Investment in Human Capital: Earnings of Women.
In: Journal of Political Economy
82(2)
, 76-108
.
Link.
[close]
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Mulligan, Casey and Yona Rubinstein (2008).
Selection, Investment, and Women's Relative Wages over Time.
In: Quarterly Journal of Economics
123(3)
, 1061-1110
.
Abstract.
Link.
In theory, growing wage inequality within gender should cause women to invest more in their market productivity and should differentially pull able women into the workforce. Our paper uses Heckman's two-step estimator and identification at infinity on repeated Current Population Survey cross sections to calculate relative wage series for women since 1970 that hold constant the composition of skills. We find that selection into the female full-time full-year workforce shifted from negative in the 1970s to positive in the 1990s, and that the majority of the apparent narrowing of the gender wage gap reflects changes in female workforce composition. We find the same types of composition changes by measuring husbands' wages and National Longitudinal Survey IQ data as proxies for unobserved skills. Our findings help to explain why growing wage equality between genders coincided with growing inequality within gender. [close]
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Munich, Daniel, Jan Svejnar and Katherine Terrell (2005).
Is Women's Human Capital Valued More by Markets than by Planners?.
In: Journal of Comparative Economics
33(2)
, 278-299
.
Abstract.
Link.
Using micro data on women in the Czech Republic, we compare returns to various measures of human capital at three points in time, namely, the end of Communism (1989), in mid-transition (1996), and in late-transition (2002). We find dramatic increases in returns to education from 1989 to 1996 but no change from 1996 to 2002 and no differences in returns to education in state vs. privately-owned firms. We demonstrate that sheepskin or diploma effects exist in both regimes and rise over time; moreover, they are similar across firm ownership types. We find no difference between the returns to education obtained during Communism and the returns to schooling obtained during the transition. Wage-experience profiles do not chance over time. The pattern and rates of increase in the returns to education over these three points in time are similar for women and men. In sum, markets pay women and men equally more for their human capital than did the planners; all of the adjustment occurred early in the transition and it was driven by market forces rather than private ownership. [close]
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Munshi, Kaivan and Mark Rosenzweig (2006).
Traditional Institutions Meet the Modern World: Caste, Gender, and Schooling Choice in a Globalizing Economy.
In: American Economic Review
96(4)
, 1225-1252
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper addresses the question of how traditional institutions interact with the forces of globalization to shape the economic mobility and welfare of particular groups of individuals in the new economy. We explore the role of one such traditional institution-the caste system-in shaping career choices by gender in Bombay using new survey data on school enrollment and income over the past 20 years. We find that male working-class-lower-caste-networks continue to channel boys into local language schools that lead to the traditional occupation, despite the fact that returns to nontraditional white-collar occupations rose substantially in the 1990s, suggesting the possibility of a dynamic inefficiency. In contrast, lower-caste girls, who historically had low labor market participation rates and so did not benefit from the network, are taking full advantage of the opportunities that became available in the new economy by switching rapidly to English schools. [close]
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Niederle, Muriel and Lise Vesterlund (2010).
Explaining the Gender Gap in Math Test Scores: The Role of Competition.
In: Journal of Economic Perspectives
24(2)
, 129-144
.
Abstract.
Link.
The mean and standard deviation in performance on math test scores are only slightly larger for males than for females. Despite minor differences in mean performance, many more boys than girls perform at the right tail of the distribution. This gender gap has been documented for a series of math tests including the AP calculus test, the mathematics SAT, and the quantitative portion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The objective of this paper is not to discuss whether the mathematical skills of males and females differ, be it a result of nurture or nature. Rather we argue that the reported test scores do not necessarily match the gender differences in math skills. We will present results that suggest that the evidence of a large gender gap in mathematics performance at high percentiles in part may be explained by the differential manner in which men and women respond to competitive test-taking environments. The effects in mixed-sex settings range from women failing to perform well in competitions, to women shying away from environments in which they have to compete. We find that the response to competition differs for men and women, and in the examined environment, gender difference in competitive performance does not reflect the difference in noncompetitive performance. We argue that the competitive pressures associated with test taking may result in performances that do not reflect those of less-competitive settings. Of particular concern is that the distortion is likely to vary by gender and that it may cause gender differences in performance to be particularly large in mathematics and for the right tail of the performance distribution. Thus the gender gap in math test scores may exaggerate the math advantage of males over females. [close]
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Nollenberger, Natalia, Núria Rodrígez-Planas and Almudena Sevilla (2016).
The Math Gender Gap: The Role of Culture.
In: American Economic Review
106(5)
, 257-61
.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper investigates the effect of gender-related culture on the math gender gap by analysing math test scores of second-generation immigrants, who are all exposed to a common set of host country laws and institutions. We find that immigrant girls whose parents come from more gender-equal countries perform better (relative to similar boys) than immigrant girls whose parents come from less gender-equal countries, suggesting an important role of cultural beliefs on the role of women in society on the math gender gap. The transmission of cultural beliefs accounts for at least two thirds of the overall contribution of gender-related factors. [close]
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Norton, Seth and Annette Tomal (2009).
Religion and Female Educational Attainment.
In: Journal of Money, Credit and Banking
41(5)
, 961-986
.
Abstract.
Link.
The paper reviews the literature on the education, gender, and religion nexuses and identifies plausible hypotheses that religion adversely affects female education. The link between major religions and female educational attainment is examined using the Barro-Lee data set for a sample of 97 countries. The estimates include control variables for colonial heritage, urbanization, labor force participation, and young adult mortality. The estimates show powerful negative links between female educational attainment and the proportion of ethnoreligions, Hindu, and Muslim adherents in a country, with similar results for the gender gap. The paper offers some interpretative thoughts and research agendas. [close]
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Parker, Jeffrey (2010).
An Empirical Examination of the Roles of Ability and Gender in Collaborative Homework Assignments.
In: Journal of Economic Education
41(1)
, 15-30
.
Abstract.
Link.
The author investigates how ability and gender affect grades on homework projects performed by assigned pairs of students in an undergraduate macroeconomics course. The assignment grade is found to depend on the ability of both students, and the relative importance of the stronger and weaker student differs in predictable ways depending on the kind of assignment. Male-male pairs earn lower grades than male-female or female-female pairs, controlling for the measured ability of the students. [close]
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Pekkarinen, Tuomas (2008).
Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: Evidence on the Role of Tracking from a Finnish Quasi-experiment.
In: Scandinavian Journal of Economics
110(4)
, 807-825
.
Abstract.
Link.
In this paper we study the relationship between the timing of tracking of pupils into vocational and academic secondary education and gender differences in educational attainment and income. It is argued that in a comprehensive system, where students are tracked into vocational and academic schools relatively late (age 15-16), girls are more likely to choose the academic track than boys. We exploit the Finnish comprehensive school reform of the 1970s to analyse this hypothesis. This changed the Finnish school system from a selective to a comprehensive structure and postponed tracking from the age of 10-11 to 15-16. Since the reform was not implemented at the same time throughout the country, we can observe members of the same cohorts under both systems. The shift to a comprehensive system was found to increase gender differences in the probability of choosing an academic secondary education and of continuing onto academic tertiary education. Moreover, the reform decreased the gender wage gap in adult income by four percentage points. [close]
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Polachek, Solomon (2004).
How the Human Capital Model Explains Why the Gender Wage Gap Narrowed.
IZA Discussion paper 1102.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper explores secular changes in women’s pay relative to men’s pay. It shows how the human capital model predicts a smaller gender wage gap as male-female lifetime work expectations become more similar. The model explains why relative female wages rose almost unabated from 1890 to the early-1990s in the United States (with the exception of about 1940-1980), and why this relative wage growth tapered off since 1993. In addition to the US, the paper presents evidence from nine other countries using data gleaned from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). [close]
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Polachek, Solomon (1981).
Occupational Self-Selection: A Human Capital Approach to Sex Differences in Occupational Structure.
In: Review of Economics and Statistics
63(1)
, 60-69
.
Link.
[close]
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Polachek, Solomon (1975).
Differences in Expected Post-School Investment as a Determinant of Market Wage Differentials.
In: International Economic Review
16(2)
, 451-470
.
Link.
[close]
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Pritchett, Lant and Martina Viarengo (2010).
Explaining the Cross-National Time-Series Variation in Life Expectancy: Income, Women’s Education, Shifts and What Else?” .
UN Human Development Research Paper No. 2010/31.
Abstract.
Link.
This paper examines the variation across countries and evolution over time of life expectancy. Using historical data going back to the beginning of the 20th century several basic facts about the relationship between national income and life expectancy are established. The paper shows that even by examining the augmented Preston curve there is no indication that the Preston curve is “breaking down” and no indication from over 100 years of data that a very strong relationship between national income and life expectancy will not persist, particularly over the ranges of income of primary interest to the Human Development Report. Empirical findings show that there are actually fewer “puzzles” than might appear while trying to reconcile the strong cross-sectional association with the time evolution of life expectancy in specific countries and most of the existing “puzzles” come from using either very short time-horizons or very small moves in income per capita when the Preston curve is a long-run phenomena. The paper also discusses the phenomena of the cross-national convergence, with the life expectancy of the poorer countries increasing, in absolute terms, faster than those of the rich countries and how the findings about the augmented Preston curve relate to discussions of health policy. [close]