The gender wage gap: evidence from South Korea
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Repeated cross-sectional econometric decomposition graded by design analogy to non-randomized observational cohorts, not clinical CEBM.
OpenAlex W4313000568 · doi:10.2478/izajole-2022-0005
What was done
The author analyzed South Korean labor microdata spanning 1998 to 2020 to investigate trends and drivers of the gender wage gap among full-time workers. The study used wage gap decomposition techniques across the wage distribution to separate the gap into portions explained by measured labor market characteristics and unexplained factors, and evaluated the specific impacts of marriage and childbirth across age cohorts.
What was found
The abstract reports no point estimates, percentages, or exact numerical values. Qualitatively, improvements in women's measured labor market characteristics contributed to reducing the gap, but wage convergence between male and female workers slowed over the 1998–2020 period. The unexplained portion of the gender wage gap became larger than the explained portion across the wage distribution, indicating a glass ceiling effect. Furthermore, marriage and childbirth accounted for a substantial widening of the wage gap among women in their 30s and 40s.
Why it matters
South Korea maintains the largest gender wage gap among OECD nations; this study demonstrates that observable gains in women's qualifications alone cannot close the disparity without addressing motherhood penalties and upper-distribution career barriers.
Limits
The abstract does not report sample sizes, specific dataset names, numerical effect sizes, or confidence intervals. As an observational econometric decomposition, residual unexplained gaps may capture unmeasured productivity characteristics or selection into the labor force rather than pure discrimination.
Cited by
- supports In South Korea, women attain higher education degrees at the same rate as men, but a large gender wage gap persists in employment.