During the 1960s and early 1970s, the black – white wage gap narrowed significantly, but has remained constant since the late 1980s. The black – white wage gap in the recent period may reflect differences in human capital. A key component of human capital is labor market experience. The first chapter of this dissertation examines how differences in the returns and patterns of experience accumulation affect the black – white wage gap. Accounting for differences in the nature of experience accumulation does not explain the very large gap in wages between blacks and whites. Instead, the wage gap seems to be driven by constant differences between blacks and whites which may represent unobserved differences in skill or the effects of discrimination. The second chapter of the dissertation examines the role of discrimination in explaining the wage gap by asking whether statistical discrimination by employers causes the wages of never incarcerated blacks to suffer when the incarceration rate of blacks in an area increases. I find little evidence that black incarceration rates negatively affect the wages of never incarcerated blacks. Instead, macroeconomic effects in areas with higher incarceration rates play a more important role in explaining the variation in black wages. The third and final chapter of the dissertation examines the black – white wage gap and its determinants across the entire wage distribution to determine if the factors that are driving the wage gap vary across the distribution. I find that at the top of the conditional distribution, differences in the distribution of characteristics explain relatively more of the black – white wage gap than differences in the prices of characteristics. At the bottom of the conditional distribution, differences in the distribution of characteristics explain relatively more of the wage gap—although this finding varies across different specifications of the model.

In this study, I compare men and women with and without children to analyze the effect of children on wages and earnings. By comparing the gender wage gap to the family gap for men and women respectively, I find that there is still a persistent, yet rather small, family gap for women. The constant family gap for women supports the notion that a greater fraction of the gender wage gap can be explained by effects of having children now than previously. When using yearly earnings instead of hourly wages, the gender wage gap increases whereas the family gap for women decreases. This implies that although there are several policies with the aim of reducing gender wage differences and creating possibilities for women to combine work and family, there are still concrete effects that arise from taking the responsibility for children. Because the effect of having children is seemingly constant over time for women, the results from this study imply that specific policies are needed to prevent and battle the difference in labor market outcomes that arise because of the differing effects from caring for children.

nÃo hà / As questÃes ligadas à educaÃÃo e à desigualdade de renda foram o objeto deste estudo, no qual foram coletados dados da Prova Brasil de 2011 (base de dados do SAEB- Sistema de AvaliaÃÃo da educaÃÃo BÃsica), especificamente sobre os resultados da prova de matemÃtica e lÃngua portuguesa, aplicadas aos alunos do 9 ano do Ensino Fundamental, bem como dados dos Ãndices de Gini e do Ãndice de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal (IDH-M). Objetivase com esta pesquisa fazer um paralelo entre o desempenho escolar dos alunos do 9 ano dos estados do Cearà e SÃo Paulo junto à questÃo da desigualdade de renda e desenvolvimento humano, e, para tanto, testa-se a hipÃtese de que existe uma relaÃÃo inversa entre desempenho escolar e desigualdade de renda e positiva entre desempenho escolar e IDH-M para estes estados da federaÃÃo e para o ano da pesquisa. AlÃm disto, um exercÃcio contra factual propÃe verificar a seguinte questÃo: Se o Cearà apresentasse o Ãndice de Gini e IDH de SÃo Paulo, como o modelo explicaria o desempenho dos alunos cearenses medido pela Prova Brasil? / The issues related to education and income inequality were the goal of this study, in which data from Prova Brasil 2011 (database Saeb-System Evaluation of Primary education) were collected specifically on the results of math and Portuguese test, applied to students in the 9th grade of elementary school, as well as data and Gini Index Municipal Human development Index (HDI-M). We aim with this research to draw a parallel between the academic performance of students in the 9th grade in the states of Cearà and SÃo Paulo connected to the issue of income inequality and human development, and testing the hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between performance educational and income inequality between school performance and positive and HDI-M, for these states of the federation and the survey year. Besides, a counterfactual exercise proposes to verify the following question: If Cearà presented the Gini Index and HDI of SÃo Paulo, how the model would explain the performance of Cearà students measured by Prova Brasil?

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There was a well documented surge of wage inequality in the US that started from mid-70s and continued in 80s, slowing down by mid-90s, caused by increased dispersion both between and within groups of people with similar personal characteristics and skills. We analyze the US wage inequality in the more recent years to see if this trend continues. We apply the decomposition technique of Juhn, Murphy and Pierce (1993) and quantile regression to March Current Population Survey data of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics data and Luxembourg Income Study data for a few selected European countries. We find that the increase in wage inequality continues during the 90s, especially in the second half. In addition, the focus of wage inequality shifts into the upper half of the wage distribution after mid-80s. The European countries do not show a common trend in the direction of wage inequality during the 90s. However, the focus of their wage inequality seems to be shifting towards the lower half of the wage distribution as opposed to that of US.

This dissertation analyzes changes in the ruling strategies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the context of economic reforms, beginning in 1978. By employing both quantitative and qualitative methods, this dissertation investigates how Chinese leaders have utilized legitimating strategies, while modifying their governing strategies, in order to a) solidify the population, b) consolidate ruling authority and c) maintain political and social stability. Specifically, this dissertation looks at how Chinese policymakers have developed effective public policies in response to rapidly rising wage inequality, one of the most pressing problems undermining the CCP’s ruling authority. By providing an original estimate of China’s wage inequality and analyzing the government’s response to it, this dissertation provides a unique look at how the CCP has transformed government functions from growth-based to people-centered to meet various social, political and economic challenges. A comparative statistical analysis helps illustrate the philosophical roots and sources of the CCP’s political legitimacy. The technique of Theil Statistics is applied to measure China’s wage inequality during the reform period. A multivariate hierarchical regression analysis is employed to measure the impact of rising inequality on Chinese society. Two models on social welfare system reform are studied in order to understand Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao’s people-centered governing philosophy and the rationale for constructing a service-oriented government. / text

Prior research from the U.S. and abroad reveals a sizable lesbian earnings advantage over otherwise-similar heterosexual women. Using data from the 2000 U.S. Census and 2005-2010 American Community Surveys, we estimate traditional earnings equations and find robust evidence of a lesbian premium, corroborating the findings of previous studies. Using within-sample maternity incidence as an estimate of employers' forward-looking expectations, we then examine whether differences in the perceived likelihood of an employee requiring maternity leave, here-labelled 'maternity risk', contribute to the lesbian pay gap. Results from a direct assessment suggest that maternity risk adversely affects income, and that accounting for near-term differences in maternity risk reduces the lesbian premium by approximately ten to fifteen percent. Further analyses, using proxy variables for differential maternity risk, yield similar results. As such, the persistent finding of a lesbian earnings advantage in previous studies can be attributed, at least in part, to employers' aversion to maternity risk and its associated costs. These findings are also of critical importance to the general labour-market discrimination literature. Given the adverse earnings effect of maternity risk, our analysis suggests that estimates of the well-established gender earnings disparity are likely to be considerably smaller when incorporating maternity risk into the analysis. Absent the ability to adequately control for maternity risk, strict attention should be paid to potential upward bias in estimated earnings differentials. Moreover, policymakers should consider the broader implications of maternity-leave policy on the labour-market outcomes of females. In this respect, maternity-leave policy may influence the hiring and promotion decisions of employers, thereby indirectly affecting sexual-orientation and gender equality in the labour market. However, further research in this area is still required, given the limitations inherent in the direct and indirect analyses.

This thesis analyzes the pecuniary aspects of education in Turkey. It consists of three essays. The first essay deals with the demand for education, focusing on private tutoring expenditures of households. The study investigates the determinants of private tutoring expenditures of households using a Tobit model as the estimation method. It is found that wealthier households with higher levels of parental education are more likely to participate in private tutoring. The second essay concerns the wage inequality in the male wages in 1994 and 2002. The study found that the differences in the educational attainment levels are a major determinant of wage inequality. However, returns to education declined at each school level from 1994 to 2002. Wage inequality is also found to exist within the same educational categories. The study shows that differences in returns to the same level of education at distinct points of wage distribution became more pronounced in 2002 compared to 1994. Secondary schooling is found to benefit the least able more compared to those positioned in the middle quantiles of ability distribution. The last study in this thesis attempts to elucidate the determinants of self-employment versus wage employment choice and earnings in the two employment states. The study concludes that financial wealth and risk factor are important determinants of self-employment activity. As the educational attainment levels of individuals increase, the likelihood of becoming self-employed decrease. Education increases the earnings of both self-employed and wage earners. However, education returns are higher for the sub-group of wage employees compared to self-employed.

[pt] O Mercado de trabalho brasileiro passou por mudanças significativas entre 2003 e 2012. A desigualdade de salários, informalidade e desemprego caíram enquanto o salário mínimo real subiu. Evidências empíricas recentes sugerem que o papel das firmas foi importante nesses processos. Este artigo tem dois aspectos principais. Primeiro eu proponho um modelo de search e mathching com firmas e trabalhadores heterogêneos que leva em conta diversos atributos do mercado de trabalho brasileiro como informalidade, desemprego, salário mínimo e desigualdade de salários entre e intra firmas. Em seguida, com o modelo estimado que replica momentos importantes do mercado de trabalho em 2003, eu proponho exercícios contrafactuais para quantificar os determinantes por trás da redução da desigualdade de salários no Brasil. Os resultados do modelo sugerem que as mudanças no valor real do salário mínimo e da composição educacional da força de trabalho explicam grande parte da redução da desigualdade de salários no setor formal, mas são fatores mais limitados na redução da desigualdade de renda na economia como um todo. / [en] The labor market in Brazil had significant changes between 2003 and 2012. Wage inequality, informality and unemployment decreased while the real minimum wage rose. This paper has two major features. First, I propose a search and matching model with heterogeneous firms and workers that takes into account several attributes of the Brazilian labor market such as informality, unemployment, minimum wage, wage variance between and within firms and the educational composition of the workforce. Then, with an estimated model that fits important moments of the labor market in 2003, I make counterfactual exercises to quantify the determinants beneath the reduction of wage inequality. Results from the model suggest that changes in the real value of the minimum wage and the educational attainment of the workforce explain most of the reduction of wage inequality in the formal sector, but are more limited factors in the reduction of wage inequality in the whole economy.

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