Gender Wage Gaps, ‘Sticky Floors’ and ‘Glass Ceilings’ in Europe

A Discussion Paper (2013-01) by Louis N. Christofides, Alexandros Polycarpou and Konstantinos Vrachimis (University of Cyprus) published by College of Management and Economics, Guelph, Ontario, Canada and University of Guelph Department of Economics and Finance (January 2013)

Abstract

We consider and attempt to understand the gender wage gap across 26 European countries, using 2007 data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions. The size of the gender wage gap varies considerably across countries, definitions of the gap, and selection-correction mechanisms. Most of the gap cannot be explained by the characteristics available in this data set. Quantile regressions show that, in a number of countries, the wage gap is wider at the top (‘glass ceilings’) and/or at the bottom of the wage distribution (‘sticky floors’). We find larger mean/median gender gaps and more evidence of glass ceilings for full-time full-year employees, suggesting more female disadvantage in ‘better’ jobs. These features may be related to country-specific policies that cannot be evaluated at the individual country level, at a point in time. We use the cross-country variation in the unexplained wage gaps of this larger-than-usual sample of states to explore the influence of

1. country policies that reconcile work and family life and
2. their wage-setting institutions.

We find that country policies and institutions are related to features of their unexplained gender wage gaps in systematic, quantitatively important, ways.

JEL Classification: J16, J31, J50, C21

Full text (PDF 44pp)

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Educational policies in a long-run perspective

an article by Michela Braga and Daniele Checchi (University of Milan) and Elena Meschi (University Ca' Foscari, Venice) published in Economic Policy Volume 28 Issue 73 (January 2013)

Summary

In this paper we study the effects of educational reforms on school attainment.

We construct a dataset of relevant reforms that occurred at the national level over the last century, and match individual information from 24 European countries to the most likely set-up faced when individual educational choices were undertaken.

Our identification strategy relies on temporal and geographical variations in the institutional arrangements, controlling for time/country fixed effects, as well as for country specific time trend. By characterising each group of reforms for their impact on mean years of education, educational inequality and intergenerational persistence, we show an ideal policy menu which has been available to policy-makers.

We distinguish between groups of policies that are either ‘inclusive’ or ‘selective’, depending on their diminishing or augmenting impact on inequality and persistence.

Finally, we correlate these reform measures to political coalitions prevailing in parliament, finding support for the idea that left-wing parties support reforms that are inclusive, while right-wing parties prefer selective ones.

This paper is part of a larger research project on ‘Growing Inequalities’ Impacts (GINI)' financed by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme (contract no. 244592).
This paper was presented at the 55th Panel Meeting of Economic Policy in Copenhagen.

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How would they choose? Online student preferences for advance course information

an article by James Marshall, Heather Greenberg and Patricia A. Machun (San Diego State University, USA) published in Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning Volume 27 Issue 3 (November 2012)

Abstract

Nearly 30% of higher education students now take at least one online course in which the instructor and students are physically separated and electronic means are used to facilitate the learning experience.

“Anytime, anywhere” is a powerful draw that prompts students to seek online learning experiences. Yet with an attrition rate between 10 and 20% higher than traditional courses, how can universities ensure online course success?

While significant research has investigated attrition, little if any has examined preventing attrition through effective course selection. Students enrolled in a completely online graduate programme in educational technology responded to a survey designed to record preferences for advance online course information – including visual representation of that information.

Respondents rated collaboration, necessary synchronous attendance, and total time invested by prior students, as priority relative to their decisions about enrolling in an online course.

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Employment effects of extended geographic scope in job search

an article by Anders Boman (Department of Economics, University of Gothenburg, Sweden) published in Labour Economics Volume 19 Issue 5 (October 2012)

Abstract

This paper uses a unique possibility to link unemployed individuals’ stated willingness to move for work with administrative data, giving us the possibility to analyse the effects of individual willingness-to-move on labour market outcome.

Those with extended geographic job search area have a higher probability of finding a job.

However, the greatest effect is found on the local labour market, indicating that it is not the extended geographic scope per se that increases the likelihood of escaping unemployment, but differences in unobservable characteristics between those who use an extended search area and those who do not.

Highlights

► Willingness to move is extracted from unemployment agency records.
► Employment effects of extended job search area are analysed.
► Employment effects are positive, but mainly in the local labour market.
► Selection into migration rather than migration yields positive employment effects.

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Graduates' reactions to recruitment process outsourcing: A scenario-based study

an article by Marius Claus Wehner, Angelo Giardini and Rüdiger Kabst (University of Giessen, Germany) published in Human Resource Management Volume 51 Issue 4 (July/August 2012)

Abstract

This study examines how successive outsourcing of recruitment activities to an external provider – also known as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) – affects graduates’ reactions.

Using an experimental scenario technique, a total of 158 graduates participated in four hypothetical scenarios that have been developed as an experimental between-subject design.

Results provide support for negative effects of the extent of RPO on graduates’ satisfaction with the recruitment process and company attractiveness. More-over, mediated by graduates’ satisfaction with the recruitment process and company attractiveness, an increasing extent of RPO negatively influences job-acceptance intentions.
© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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What do tattoo artists know about HRM? Recruitment and selection in the body art sector

an article by Andrew R. Timming (Manchester Business School) published in Employee Relations Volume 33 Issue 5 (2011)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the recruitment and selection procedures employed in the body art sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative interviews were conducted with the owners/managers of eight body art studios located across the USA and the UK.
Findings
The results suggest that recruitment and selection in the body art sector is characteristically informal and instinctive. It was also found that the use of formal methods of recruitment and selection in one of the case studies appeared to enhance difficulties in attracting and retaining talent.
Practical/implications
The research corroborates the argument that smaller firms employ HRM strategies that are distinct from larger firms. But, more importantly, it also suggests that firm size could be a red herring in light of the various other factors that simultaneously influence HR service delivery.
Originality/value
This paper explores HRM practices in a hitherto unstudied sector of the economy. It also adds another layer of complexity to the academic debates surrounding HRM in small- and medium-sized enterprises.

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