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