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The effects of competition and equal treatment laws on the gender wage differential

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Abstract
This paper evaluates the impact of economic and legal variables on wage differentials between men and women. Since Becker (1957) economists have argued that competitive markets eliminate discrimination in the long run. On the other hand, practically all countries have enacted some sort of law mandating equal treatment of men and women. This paper uses a new international data set on the gender wage gap, which is constructed via a meta-analysis of existing studies. The findings show that both increased competition and the enactment of equal treatment laws reduce the gender wage gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Doris Weichselbaumer & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2003. "The effects of competition and equal treatment laws on the gender wage differential," Economics working papers 2003-07, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    • Handle: RePEc:jku:econwp:2003_07
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender wage gap; competition; equal treatment law;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

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