Search Results
Report
Preference for the workplace, investment in human capital, and gender
We use a hypothetical choice methodology to estimate preferences for workplace attributes and quantify how much these preferences influence pre-labor-market human capital investments. This method robustly identifies preferences for various job attributes, free from omitted variable bias and free from considering the equilibrium job match. Women on average have a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for jobs with greater work flexibility and job stability, and men have a higher WTP for jobs with higher earnings growth. These job preferences relate to college major choices and actual job choices, ...
Working Paper
Gender and Professional Networks on Bank Boards
Women are underrepresented on bank boards. Using a newly compiled dataset of bank board membership over the 1999-2018 period, we find that within-board professional networks are extensive, but female board members are significantly less connected than male directors, both in number and length of connections. We also find that professional networks play an important role in determining the appointment of bank board directors. Connections also positively impact compensation for female directors, especially connections to other women. These results suggest that there are differences in the ...
The “She-Cession” Persists, Especially for Women of Color
During most of the pandemic, women have experienced higher unemployment rates than men. Women of color have been hit particularly hard.
Working Paper
Decomposing Gender Differences in Bankcard Credit Limits
Using linked mortgage application and credit bureau data, we document the existence of unconditional and conditional gender gaps in the distribution of total bankcard limits. We estimate that male borrowers have approximately $1,300 higher total bankcard limits than female borrowers. This gap is primarily driven by a large gender gap in the right tail of the limit distribution. At the median and in the left tail of the total limit distribution, women have larger limits than men. Results from a Kitagawa-Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition show that 87 percent of the gap is explained by differences in ...
Newsletter
Gender and Labor Markets
Interactions between employers and employees in the labor market underpin all production activities. The January 2022 issue of Page One Economics® discusses how gender influences workers’ experiences in the labor market, including their decisions to participate in the market, the types of jobs they hold, their decisions to exit the market, and ultimately their earnings.
Taking a Closer Look at Marital Status and the Earnings Gap
Research suggests that married men’s higher income account for a significant portion of the U.S. gender earnings gap. Does this also hold when race is considered?
Essay
Gender and Racial Disparities in Student Loan Debt
Student debt isn’t equally distributed among young adults, particularly Black adults and women, who are more likely to have loans and take longer to pay them down.
Disaggregated Data as a Tool of Inclusion
Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe, founder and president of the Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race, says disaggregating data leads to better policy and saves lives.
Report
Gender representation in economics across topics and time: evidence from the NBER
We document the representation of female economists on the conference programs at the NBER Summer Institute from 2001 to 2016. Over the 2013-16 period, women made up 20.6 percent of all authors on scheduled papers. However, there was large dispersion across programs, with the share of female authors ranging from 7.3 percent to 47.7 percent. While the average share of women rose slightly?from 18.5 percent in 2001-04?a persistent gap between the finance, macroeconomics, and microeconomics subfields remains, with women representing 14.4 percent of authors in finance, 16.3 percent of authors in ...
Discussion Paper
The Power of Proximity: How Working beside Colleagues Affects Training and Productivity
Firms remain divided about the value of the office for “office” workers. Some firms think that their employees are more productive when working from home. Others believe that the office is a key place for investing in workers’ skills. In this post, which is based on a recent working paper, we examine whether both sides could be right: Could working in the office facilitate investments in workers’ skills for tomorrow that diminish productivity today?