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Occupational Segregation and its Effect on Estimates of the Gender Wage Differential: Evidence from Brunei
Author(s) -
Teo Siew Yean
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
asian economic journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.345
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1467-8381
pISSN - 1351-3958
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8381.2003.00190.x
Subject(s) - wage , differential (mechanical device) , economics , occupational segregation , demographic economics , labour economics , differential effects , medicine , engineering , aerospace engineering
This paper investigates the impact of the different occupational distributions of the gender groups on the gender wage differential in Brunei. We disaggregate occupational differences into explained and unexplained portions as this can provide better estimates of across‐occupation and within‐occupation wage differentials. Using data from the Brunei 1995 Labor Force Survey report, results indicated that the gender wage difference is approximately 60%. Unlike other studies, it is found that in Brunei the unexplained portion of occupational segregation has had an impact on gender wage differentials and accounts for approximately one‐third of the observed gap. Interestingly, the unexplained component of the within‐occupation gap is relatively less than in some developed economies. This is attributed to the effects of the large public sector in Brunei and its regulated pay scales.