- Title
- Does Type of Degree Explain Taiwan's Gender Gap?
- Author(s)
- Jessica L. Baraka Jessica Baraka (Princeton University)
- Abstract
- Research in the U.S. shows that differences between the sexes in college major explain a substantial portion of the gender gap in wages, and that shifts toward a more equal sex composition in choice of major have led to a decrease in the gap. In this paper, I examine whether a similar phenomenon has occurred in Taiwan. From the 1960's through the 1980?s, the government of Taiwan attempted to increase the proportion of vocational/technical degrees as a percentage of all degrees held by its citizens. Using data from Taiwan's annual Manpower Utilization Survey, I find that the government was quite successful in encouraging people to pursue vocational education. In addition, I find that the type of degree a person receives may be as important to his or her earnings as his or her education level. However, the importance of degree type varies by gender, having a more substantial impact on earnings for men than for women. Consistent with the U.S. literature, I find that degree type does little to explain the overall gender gap in earnings in Taiwan, but may explain a substantial portion of the gap in a sample limited to university graduates.
- Creation Date
- 1999-07
- Section URL ID
- RPDS
- Paper Number
- baraka_degree_type.pdf
- URL
- https://rpds.princeton.edu/sites/rpds/files/media/baraka_degree_type.pdf
- File Function
- Jel
- J16, J31, I26
- Keyword(s)
- Taiwan
- Suppress
- false
- Series
- 5