Congratulations! You have just been appointed to a commission studying wage discrimination again women. Again, you have been pushed from the frying pan into the fire, as this is a sensitive topic. It i your role to give the background report to the commission, who will subsequently make some recommendations for anti-discrimination policy.
• There are several theoretical models of labour market discrimination that seek to explain why me and women with equal productivity levels may not be paid the same. Briefly describe in intuitive terms the demand-side approach, the supply-side approach (the crowding hypothesis), and the
non-competitive approach involving barriers to mobility.
• It is true that, on average, women spend less time in the labour market gaining experience,
on-the-job training, and other forms of human capital than men do, which is often tied to childbearin responsibilities. Some apologists claim that lower pay for women might be justified, as employers have less of an incentive to invest in workers with higher turnover. On the other hand, this line of reasoning has been countered by some analysts. What is the nature of the critique of those who disagree with the apologists? (An apologist would say that the pay differentials are justifiable based o productivity and that there is no direct discrimination against women.)
• Like many other issues raised in this textbook, the conceptual models take us only so far in our analysis. Empirical research on male-female earnings differentials is required to assess the validity of the models. The extent of the wage discrimination is typically measured by the so-called Oaxaca decomposition effect. Without getting into the technical details of this equation, explain the general
idea of the procedure. You should describe the major elements. No graph is necessary.
• Finally, describe the essence of the vast empirical literature on the male-female wage differential. You should include a mention of the occupational effect on wages. Has the gap been increasing or decreasing over time?

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The Answer of Congratulations! You have just been appointed to a commission studying wage discrimination again women. Again, you have been pushed from the frying pan into the fire, as this is a sensitive topic. It i your role to give the background report to the commission, who will subsequently make some recommendations for anti-discrimination policy.
• There are several theoretical models of labour market discrimination that seek to explain why me and women with equal productivity levels may not be paid the same. Briefly describe in intuitive terms the demand-side approach, the supply-side approach (the crowding hypothesis), and the
non-competitive approach involving barriers to mobility.
• It is true that, on average, women spend less time in the labour market gaining experience,
on-the-job training, and other forms of human capital than men do, which is often tied to childbearin responsibilities. Some apologists claim that lower pay for women might be justified, as employers have less of an incentive to invest in workers with higher turnover. On the other hand, this line of reasoning has been countered by some analysts. What is the nature of the critique of those who disagree with the apologists? (An apologist would say that the pay differentials are justifiable based o productivity and that there is no direct discrimination against women.)
• Like many other issues raised in this textbook, the conceptual models take us only so far in our analysis. Empirical research on male-female earnings differentials is required to assess the validity of the models. The extent of the wage discrimination is typically measured by the so-called Oaxaca decomposition effect. Without getting into the technical details of this equation, explain the general
idea of the procedure. You should describe the major elements. No graph is necessary.
• Finally, describe the essence of the vast empirical literature on the male-female wage differential. You should include a mention of the occupational effect on wages. Has the gap been increasing or decreasing over time?

Congratulations! You Have Just Been Appointed to a Commission Studying