Evaluating the labour market experience of Canadian male and female 1986 University graduates.

Abstract

A major issue in labour economics concerns the differences in earnings between males and females. This thesis evaluates the male-female wage gap of the 1986 university graduates using The Follow-up of 1986 Graduates (NGS). The wage differential among graduates with bachelor degrees widens over the period 1986-1991. The increase in wage discrimination is the result of a change in the skill sets of males and females. However, wage discrimination decreases among graduates with masters degrees. The main reason for the decrease is the improved returns, relative to males, that females earn for their human capital characteristics. The results are obtained using Oaxaca's (1973), Cotton's (1988) and Wellington's (1993) decomposition methodologies. Wellington's (1993) two-period decomposition takes advantage of the panel nature of the data and has been employed only once previously on Canadian data. This thesis shows that the analysis of wage differentials is sensitive to the parameters of the model and the underlying populations.