«Women in transition: changes in gender
wage differentials in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union»
Elizabeth Brainerd
Political Economy of Transition
Lorena CanteriniSopio GogsadzeLiucija Zaksaite
MA MIREES
Elizabeth Brainerd
• HARVARD UNIVERSITYPh.D., Economics, November 1996. Fields: labor economics, public economics.
• DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY
Susan and Barton Winokur Professor of Economics and Women’s and Gender Studies, 2009- present.
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Outline
Conclusion
Changes in female employment and labour force participation
Decomposing the change in the female-male wage differential
Empirical Results
Factors
Market reforms and changing labour market institutions in the early 1990s
Under Socialism
Introduction
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Introduction How have women in formerly socialist
countries been affected by the introduction of market reforms?
Is the introduction of market reforms in these countries a gender-neutral policy?
Comparing surveys for each country before and after the initial period of reforms 1 or 2 years of
market reforms
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Under SocialismLabour Market
Institutions• Soviet model• Occupational wage
scale• Bonuses for plan
fulfilment• Unemployment was
not recognised • Limited mobility ( Internal passport)• Excess demand for
labour ( soft budget constraints and plan fulfilment)
Economic Status of Women
Rapid growth
• Intense industrialization
• 80% of female working-age population
• Relatively equal labour market outcomes for men and women
• BUT double burden of market and non-market work
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Market Reforms and Changing Labor Market Institutions in the early
1990s Different experiences according to countries
Wage-setting system change: FSU: Decentralized plant-level negotiations EECs: collective bargaining
Minimum Wage: (changes in the real value of the minimum wage will affect women’s wage more than men’s, as women have lower wages on average) Russia and Ukraine: eroded by inflation EECs: much higher
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Factors
1. Changes in the overall wage structure (e. g.
skills)
2. Changes in gender-specific
factors (e. g. discrimination)
Return to education is favourable for
women increase female wages
Employers facing hard budget constraints
women as high cost labour (maternity
leaves and child care benefits)
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
Empirical Results
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Decomposing the change in the female-male wage
differential
Observed X’s (i. e. level of education and years
of work experience)
Observed prices
Gap Unobserved
prices
4 effects:
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in
Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union
Substantial differences between
Russia and Ukraine and
EECs
Changes in female employment and labour force participation
Shift in the occupational and industrial distribution of employment («man-power» index)
Demand and supply shifts Labour market discrimination
(hypotesis): EECs: discrimination eroded by the forces of
competition Russia and Ukraine: women may benefit from
continued de-monopolization and liberalization of those economies
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union
Conclusion
EECs:
Beneficial in
comparison with men
Facing less labour market
discrimination
Russia and Ukraine:
Increase in inequality
Lack of an effective
minimum wage
In both groups of countries, market reforms have benefited women in many ways outside the labour market (i. e.
availability of goods and services).
Women in transition: changes in gender wage differentials in Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union