Ilya Espino, Ana Hermeto and Luciana Luz
This paper aims to explore the relationship between gender occupational intensity and wages in the Northern Triangle of Central America using national surveys carried out in 2014.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the relationship between gender occupational intensity and wages in the Northern Triangle of Central America using national surveys carried out in 2014.
Design/methodology/approach
A harmonized occupational classification at the -digit level is built with the objective of analyzing the occupational distribution across countries. Then, quantile regressions (QRs) are estimated to explore in detail which factors are affecting the wages of both females and males; in particular, this paper pays special attention to female occupational intensity (the share of females within each occupation).
Findings
The comparative analysis suggests that women are overrepresented in certain occupations, and they are much more likely to be working in part-time jobs than men in all countries. Furthermore, findings reveal that working in female-dominated occupations has a negative effect on wages along the distribution across countries. However, the effect of this variable is higher at the lower quantile of the distribution for women, especially in El Salvador and Honduras.
Originality/value
This paper first proposes a new typology of occupations, which allows a consistent and comparable analysis of the occupational structure. The results then provide a picture to address gender occupational intensity and its links with wages. Further, the characteristics of the labor market and differences in trends across these countries suggest that this topic requires challenging research for the region.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2021-0165
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Francieli Tonet Maciel and Ana Maria Hermeto C. Oliveira
The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent dynamics of the Brazilian labour market, by analysing occupational mobility patterns, specially the transitions between formal and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent dynamics of the Brazilian labour market, by analysing occupational mobility patterns, specially the transitions between formal and informal labour, and verify the earnings mobility resulting from these transitions, separately by gender.
Design/methodology/approach
The changes in the mobility patterns are analysed by performing an estimation of the transition probabilities between different occupational status between 2002 and 2012, using a multinomial logit model and the microdata from the Monthly Employment Survey (PME). The earnings mobility is analysed by using quantile regressions.
Findings
The results indicate a high degree of mobility from unemployment to formal employment in the period but suggest the persistence of mobility patterns. Women are better off in the period, but only among individuals with better attributes. The earnings mobility results, for women and men, suggest an increase in valuation of the formal labour relatively to informality (informal salaried employment and self-employment), especially at the bottom of the earnings distribution.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to a better understanding of recent changes in occupational mobility patterns between formal and informal labour and the earnings mobility underlying these patterns, accounting for the differences along the earnings distribution and gender issues. That is, it allows identify which groups of workers benefited more from the formalisation process to infer about trends in formal–informal dynamics over the period and discuss the challenges in conducting policies to promote inclusive and quality employment.
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Francieli Tonet Maciel and Ana Maria Hermeto C. Oliveira
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of changes in the relative composition and in the segmentation between formal and informal labour on earnings differentials…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of changes in the relative composition and in the segmentation between formal and informal labour on earnings differentials among women over the last decade in Brazil.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors follow Machado and Mata’s method to decompose the changes along the earnings distribution, with correction for sample selection and using microdata from the Demographic Census of 2000 and 2010. Informal labour was divided into informal salaried labour and self-employment, and both groups were compared with the formal labour separately.
Findings
The results indicate that, in both cases, an increase in earnings differentials in the bottom of the earnings distribution due to segmentation, suggesting that the returns to formal labour have grown relatively to informal labour during the period. On the other hand, earnings differentials decrease as one moves up the earnings distribution due to the composition effect, which is stronger on the top of the distribution relatively to the bottom. Furthermore, there are compensating differentials for self-employed women above the 30th quantile, which contributed to reduce the inequality between this group and formal workers.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to a better understanding of the changes taking place in female labour, shedding some light on how they affect different points along the earnings distribution. Furthermore, the adopted approach proposes a new application for the correction of sample bias in the context of quantile regression by employing a logit multinomial, and using the Demographic Census data.
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Ana Maria Hermeto and André Junqueira Caetano
The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the large differences between poor and rich Brazilian households regarding children's outcomes; that is, understanding…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the large differences between poor and rich Brazilian households regarding children's outcomes; that is, understanding inequality in health outcomes in the childhood in Brazil, examining the link between the health of Brazilian children and a variety of socioeconomic factors.
Design/methodology/approach
Logit models for some measures of child health (poor health, chronic diseases, hospitalization and visits to doctors and dentists). Individuals are grouped according to their income decile. Independent variables comprise indicators of socioeconomic status and demographic variables, primarily related to the family structure.
Findings
Results suggest that the true effect of family structure is more complex than the biological relationship of parents to children. There are large effects of family income distribution on child health indicators. When control variables are included, the magnitude of these effects changes. The addition of mothers' educational attainment to the set of controls reduces the estimated income effects. Also, the gradient in the health‐income relationship is a little steeper for older children.
Originality/value
Although there are numerous studies investigating the impact of family resources on health outcomes, whether income and family structure truly matters is still a debated issue. Brazil presents a huge level of income and until recently there has been little data with which to assess the nature and magnitude of the role, which socioeconomic factors play in the incidence and severity of health problems. The authors originally attempt to understand what it means to talk about inequality in health, and whether health inequality in Brazil is linked to income inequality.