Changes in Returns to Task-Specific Skills and Gender Wage Gap
Shintaro Yamaguchi*
Last modified: 2012-06-26
Abstract
How did the skilled-biased technological change affect wage inequality, particularly the one between men and women? To answer this question, this paper constructs an extended Roy model in which workers possess a bundle of basic skills and occupations are characterized as a bundle of basic tasks. The model is estimated by a nonlinear correlated random effect regression using data from Dictionary of Occupational Titles and PSID. I find that men have more motor skills than women, but the returns to motor skills sharply dropped, which accounts for about a half of the narrowing gender wage gap. In addition, women's increase in cognitive skills and improved occupational positions also had reduced the gender wage gap significantly.