Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
  • “…a very valuable contribution.” - Larry Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury and director of the National Economic Council, president emeritus, Harvard University
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
  • “…a must-read for serious students of economic policy.” - Glenn Hubbard, Dean, Columbia Business School, and former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. The authors find the entire decline in the gender pay gap comes from newer cohorts entering with smaller-than-average gaps and older cohorts exiting with larger ones, with entry convergence driven by younger men's positional losses in the wage distribution, especially at higher-paying firms. They find labor-market exit became the sole contributor, implying no full convergence ahead.

Jaime Arellano-Bover, Nicola Bianchi, Salvatore Lattanzio et al. National Bureau of Economic Research
Date Posted:
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Database

The decrease in the gender pay gap in the US originates from the exit of age cohorts with high gender pay gaps, and the entry of recent cohorts with much lower pay gaps, due to declining opportunities for younger men, not large gains for younger women.

Does the shrinking gender pay gap come from cohort turnover?

Core argument: The entire decline in the gender pay gap originates from newer cohorts entering the labor market with smaller-than-average gaps and older cohorts exiting with higher-than-average gaps, the authors find.

The whole decline in the [gender pay] gap originates from (i) newer worker cohorts who enter the labor market with smaller-than-average gender pay gaps and (ii) older worker cohorts who exit with higher-than-average gender pay gaps. The gender pay convergence at labor-market entry stems from younger men's larger positional losses in the wage distribution. Younger men experience the largest positional losses within higher-paying firms, in which they become less represented over time at a faster rate than younger women. Finally, we document that labor-market exit is the sole contributor to the decline in the gender pay gap after the mid-1990s, which implies no full gender pay convergence for the foreseeable future. Consistent with our framework, we find evidence that most of the remaining gender pay gap at entry depends on predetermined educational choices.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. The entire decline in the gender pay gap originates from newer cohorts entering the labor market with smaller-than-average gaps and older cohorts exiting with higher-than-average gaps, the authors find.
  2. Gender pay convergence at labor-market entry stems from younger men's larger positional losses in the wage distribution, with the largest losses inside higher-paying firms, where younger men become less represented over time faster than younger women.
  3. Labor-market exit is the sole contributor to the decline in the gender pay gap after the mid-1990s, which the authors argue implies no full gender pay convergence for the foreseeable future, with most of the remaining entry gap depending on predetermined educational choices.

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  • The ‘Gender Pay Gap’ Is a Myth That Won’t Go Away — The commonly cited figure that women earn 84% of men's pay compares average annual earnings of full-time, year-round workers, a category defined broadly enough to obscure differences in hours, experience, and occupation. Women over 40 average three fewer years of experience than men the same age, which the author says explains about a third of the gap.
  • Post-Pandemic Recovery for America’s Prime Age Labor Force: A Tale of Two Sexes — Prime-age women's labor force participation climbed about 5 points above its pre-pandemic level over a decade, while prime-age men's rose barely a point, only just regaining pre-pandemic levels. Despite economic expansion and labor shortages, work rates for prime-age American men are barely as high as at the trough of the severe Reagan-era recession.
Showing 132 database articles primarily about Wages/Income