The Gender Pay Gap in Belgium: How Much do Sectors Matter?

Abstract

The existence of sectoral effects on workers’ wages is well-documented in the economic literature (Araï et al., 1996; Krueger and Summers, 1988; Lucifora, 1993; Rycx, 2002; Vainiomäki and Laaksonen, 1995). Although their exact scale is still questionable (Abowd et al., 1999; Björklund et al., 2004; Gibbons and Katz, 1992; Goux and Maurin, 1999), there is some agreement on the fact that these effects are fairly persistent, closely correlated from one country to another (Helwege, 1992), and of varying dimensions in the industrialized countries (Hartog et al., 1997). A number of studies suggest in addition that sectoral effects are significantly weaker in strongly corporatist countries (Edin and Zetterberg, 1992; Hartog et al., 2000; Kahn, 1998; Rycx, 2003; Teulings and Hartog, 1998; Zanchi, 1992; Zweimüller and Barth, 1994). Moreover, while various explanations based on efficiency wage mechanisms or rent sharing have been put forward (Benito, 2000, Krueger and Summers, 1988, Lindbeck and Snower, 1990, Thaler, 1989, Walsh, 1999), the existence of industry wage differentials remains a complex and unresolved puzzle.