RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Two Sides of the Same Coin
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 197
OP 242
DO 10.3368/jhr.45.1.197
VO 45
IS 1
A1 Marigee P. Bacolod
A1 Bernardo S. Blum
YR 2010
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/45/1/197.abstract
AB We show that the narrowing gender gap and the growth in earnings inequality are consistent with a simple model in which skills are heterogeneous, and the growth in skill prices has been particularly strong for skills with which women are well endowed. Empirical analysis of DOT, CPS, and NLSY79 data finds evidence to support this model. A large increase in the prices of cognitive and people skills—skills with which women are well endowed—and a decline in the price of motor skills account for up to 40 percent of the rising inequality and 20 percent of the narrowing gender gap.