The Evolution of Gender Earnings Gaps and Discrimination in Urban China: 1988-1995

32 Pages Posted: 19 Oct 2004

See all articles by Sylvie Démurger

Sylvie Démurger

University of Lyon 2 - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE)

Martin Fournier

University of Lyon 2 - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE)

Yi Chen

Université d'Auvergne - Clermont 1 - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Developpement International (CERDI)

Date Written: May 17, 2006

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of market liberalization on gender earnings differentials and discrimination against women in urban China at the beginning of the 90s. The observed stability in the overall gender earnings gap between 1988 and 1995 is shown to result from a complex set of evolutions across enterprises, earnings distributions and time. Our results highlight the interplay of opposing forces, economic reforms contributing to changes in managers' behaviors in different dimensions. On the one hand, by bringing more competition, liberalization favored a reduction in discriminating behaviors in both urban collectives and foreign-invested enterprises; on the other hand, by relaxing institutional rules, it led to a loosening of the government's egalitarian wage setting policies, leaving more space for discrimination in state-owned enterprises.

Keywords: gender earnings differentials, discrimination, enterprise ownership, urban China

JEL Classification: J16, J31, J71, O53, P23.

Suggested Citation

Démurger, Sylvie and Fournier, Martin and Chen, Yi, The Evolution of Gender Earnings Gaps and Discrimination in Urban China: 1988-1995 (May 17, 2006). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=606382 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.606382

Sylvie Démurger (Contact Author)

University of Lyon 2 - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE) ( email )

93, chemin des Mouilles
Ecully, 69130
France
(33 4) 72 86 61 05 (Phone)
(33 4) 72 86 60 90 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.gate.cnrs.fr/spip.php?article22

Martin Fournier

University of Lyon 2 - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE) ( email )

93, chemin des Mouilles
Ecully, 69130
France

Yi Chen

Université d'Auvergne - Clermont 1 - Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Developpement International (CERDI) ( email )

65 Boulevard Francois Mitterrand
63000 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 1
France

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