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Title: Occupational Segregation: A Defense of Human Capital Predictions
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Polachek, Solomon W. |
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Occupational Segregation: A Defense of Human Capital Predictions Mimeo, Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1982 Cohort(s): Mature Women Publisher: Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Keyword(s): Discrimination, Sex; Human Capital Theory; Life Cycle Research; Occupational Segregation; Wages Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. In this paper, the evidence presented on questions posed by Beller ("Occupational Segregation by Sex: Determinants and Changes," Journal of Human Resources, Spring, l982) and by England ("The Failure of Human Capital to Explain Occupational Sex Segregation," Journal of Human Resources, Spring l98l) is reviewed in an attempt to determine whether, as these authors allege, their evidence refutes the human capital explanation of the sex wage differential. It is found that both papers are consistent with neoclassical predictions. Specifically it is shown: (1) that England's findings are consistent with the neoclassical expectation that occupational segregation plays less of a role in explaining the wage differential than do traditional human capital variables; (2) that while earnings profiles generated with data that include a measure of occupational segregation are not ideal for testing human capital predictions, these profiles nonetheless yield parameters consistent with neoclassical theory; (3) that Beller's claim that economy-wide discrimination is so extensive that it dwarfs human capital effects is unfounded, and that, on the contrary, the evidence she presents is entirely consistent with the life cycle expectations model of occupational choice; and (4) that recasting England's assertions in multivariable regression form yields findings consistent with those of existing neoclassically- based studies. |
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Bibliography Citation
Polachek, Solomon W. "Occupational Segregation: A Defense of Human Capital Predictions." Mimeo, Department of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1982. |