The following will be discussed in this chapter: The monopolistic competitor in the short and long runs, product differentiation, the characteristics of monopolistic competition, price discrimination.
Trang 1
Chapter 30
Gender
Trang 2
Chapter Objectives
• WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION
• WHY WOMEN MAKE LESS THAN
MEN
• MODELING SEX DISCRIMINATION
Trang 3
What is Discrimination
• Disparate Treatment Discrimination
treating two otherwise equal people differently
on the basis of gender
• Adverse Impact Discrimination
doing something that is not necessarily
discriminatory on its face but that impacts
some groups more negatively than others
• Rational or Statistical Discrimination
discrimination that is based on sound
statistical evidence and is consistent with
profit maximization
Trang 4
Measuring and Detecting
Discrimination
• Regression techniques
– Statistical methods which seek to determine if the differences in treatment for men and women could have happened by random chance.
• Auditing techniques
– Sending paid actors into a situation to determine if people with identical economic characteristics are treated differently based on gender.
Trang 5
Why Women Make Less than
Men
• Pregnancy
– Loss of time in the field and intermittent
absence can put women at a economic
disadvantage (Many times this difference
in treatment is against the law.)
• Stay-at-home Moms
– 98% of stay-at-home parents are women leaving them out of the job market for
extended periods of time
Trang 6
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64
Age High School BA MA
Age-Earnings Profile
Time out of the labor market causes women to lose the period of
rapid economic advancement.
Age-Earnings Profile
Trang 7
Why Women Make Less than
Men (continued)
• Different Professions
– Teachers (83%)
– Nurses (93%)
– Social Workers (69%)
– Day Care workers (97%)
– Secretaries (99%)
– Vs
– Mechanics(4%), Construction Workers (2%),
Truck Drivers(5%)
Trang 8
• Flexible Employment
– Women, more than men, tend to choose jobs that allow them to deal with her
children’s activities and illnesses
Why Women Make Less than
Men (continued)
Trang 9
Sociology vs Economics
• Economic Explanation for pay differences
– People make choices and one of the
consequences of those choices is their earning capacity
– If women choose
• professions that do not pay well,
• to have and stay home with children
• jobs that allow them to deal with their children
they will make less money.
Trang 10
Sociology vs Economics
(continued)
• Sociological Explanation for pay
differences
– Women are socialized
• to pick certain professions
• into being the parent to stay home
• into being the parent that sacrifices career for family
which causes them to be paid less.
Trang 11
Modeling Sex Discrimination
Labor market for jobs only men are allowed do.
ND
D
wND
Labor market for jobs that women who work must do.
ND
D
SD
SD
wmen
Trang 12
Why Competition Would
Eliminate Discriminatory Pay
• Businesses that hired only men at the higher wage would have higher costs than
businesses that did not discriminate
• Businesses that did not discriminate could lower their prices and take the market share
of those firms that did discriminate
• As this happened firms would see that
discrimination was not consistent with
maximizing profits and would stop
discriminating
Trang 13
Why Competition Would Not
Necessarily Eliminate
Discrimination
• In industries where there is economic profit, firm owners may continue to discriminate and consider it a price they are willing to pay so
as to not employ women
• In industries in which the customer chooses which business to patronize based on gender, firms may be willing to discriminate because their profit maximizing interest and
discrimination are consistent
Trang 14
Consumption Market
Discrimination
• Women pay more for automobiles.
• Many women argue that they pay more for dry cleaning (evidence is
ambiguous.)
• Women pay less for automobile
insurance and pay more for retirement annuities because they generally are
safer drivers and live longer.