"The Most Egalitarian of All Professions" (by Claudia Goldin and Larry Katz) David Dorn CEMFI Madrid June 2014 Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 1 / 22
Goldin (AER 2014): Gender Wage Gaps by Cohort and Age Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 2 / 22
Outline 1 Evidence for the family-friendliness of pharmacy 2 Explaining wage changes in pharmacy 3 Lessons from pharmacy Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 3 / 22
Pharmacy as a family-friendly occupation An initially large gender wage gap in pharmacy has largely disappeared during the last 40 years Hourly wages are similar for female and male pharmacists despite lower female labor supply: 40% of women around age 40 work part-time vs. 5% of men 16% of women age 44+ had past non-employment spell vs. 5% of men Pharmacy as a linear occupation women obtain lower annual incomes than men due to fewer work hours but conditional on hours, women earn as much as men almost no wage penalty for part-time work! Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 4 / 22
Pharmacy as a linear occupation Median#Annual#Income#(Index#Income#40h#Workers#=#1)# 1.00# 0.75# 0.50# 0.25# ACS#2009H11#data:# Full$year)workers)sorted)by) usualy)weekly)hours)(5h)bins),) median)annual)salary/business)income) of)40h)workers)indexed)to)1) # Pharmacists# 0.00# 0# 10# 20# 30# 40# Usual#Weekly#Work#Hours# Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 5 / 22
Pharmacy as a linear occupation 1.00 Median Annual Income (Index Income 40h Workers = 1) 0.75 0.50 0.25 Part-Time Penalty 1-0.675/0.75=10% Pharmacists Lawyers 0.00 0 10 20 30 40 Usual Weekly Work Hours Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 6 / 22
Pharmacy as a linear occupation? 1.75 Median Annual Income (Index Income 40h Workers = 1) 1.50 1.25 1.00 0.75 0.50 Pharmacists Lawyers 0.25 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Usual Weekly Work Hours Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 7 / 22
Interpretation of part-time penalty Median Log Hourly Wage Pharmacists: PT Penalty <35h vs 35h 0.05 3.92 3.87 Median Log Hourly Wage Lawyers: PT Penalty <35h vs 35h 0.14 3.66 <35h/week 35h/week <35h/week 35h/week Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 8 / 22
Interpretation of part-time penalty Median Log Hourly Wage Pharmacists: PT Penalty <35h vs 35h 0.05 3.92 3.87 Median Log Hourly Wage Lawyers: PT Penalty <35h vs 35h 0.14 3.66 <35h/week 35h/week <35h/week 35h/week Pharm.: PT Penalty <35h vs 35-45h Lawyers: PT Penalty <35h vs 35-45h 0.08 3.95 3.87 3.72 0.12 3.78 3.84 3.66 <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 9 / 22
Wage profile by age (males) 4.20 Median Log Hourly Wage (Males) 3.40 Lawyers Pharmacists 3.20 3.00 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 Age Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 10 / 22
Summary: Family-friendliness of pharmacy Evidence for the family-friendliness of pharmacy 1 Small penalty for working part-time instead of regular full-time workload 2 No premium (and actually penalty) for working more than 45 weekly hours 3 Almost no returns to experience, thus likely little penalty for career interruptions Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 11 / 22
Outline 1 Evidence for the family-friendliness of pharmacy 2 Explaining wage changes in pharmacy 3 Lessons from pharmacy Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 12 / 22
Changes in the pharmacy profession Between 1970 and 2010, the fraction of female pharmacists has risen from 12% to 55%, with constant high female part-time employment the male/female wage ratio amoung FTFY pharmacists has fallen from 1.5 to 1.1 the part-time wage penalty has declined [?] earnings of pharmacists have risen relative to physicians, veterinarians, lawyers Empirical patterns cannot be readily explained by rising female demand for part-time work rising demand for healthcare professions Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 13 / 22
Workplace flexibility as a job amenity Part-time work (and flexible work hours more generally) is costly for firms need to co-ordinate workers who successively work on same project or for same clients Flexibility is a job amenity for workers especially valued by women with children Equilibrium with compensating wage differential jobs with flexibility pay lower hourly wages women overrepresented in lower-paid, more flexible jobs Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 14 / 22
Decreasing cost of workplace flexibility 1 ICT facilitates storage and transmission of client information lowers co-ordination cost between pharmacists 2 Increasing use of standardized drugs produced by pharmaceutical firms lowers importance of individual pharmacists drug-making skills 3 Decreasing share of self-employed pharmacists fewer management tasks that may be hard to split Part-time work becomes less costly for firms part-time penalty declines, and average wages of pharmacists rise Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 15 / 22
The role of hospitals An increasing share of pharmacists is employed by hospitals rather than pharmacies Hospitals often operate as non-profit organizations while pharmacies are usually for-profit businesses Non-profit organizations may use a wage schedule that is not profit-maximizing facilitating part-time work by women may be an organizational goal Does rising employment in hospitals contribute to the declining part-time penalty? Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 16 / 22
Pharmacist part-time penalty by employer Pharmacies: PT Penalty Hospitals: PT Penalty 3.86 0.10 3.96 3.88 0.03 3.91 3.76 3.68 <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 17 / 22
Pharmacist part-time penalty by employer Pharmacies: PT Penalty Hospitals: PT Penalty 3.86 0.10 3.96 3.88 0.03 3.91 3.76 3.68 <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week For-Profit Hospitals: PT Penalty Non-Profit Hospitals: PT Penalty 0.08 3.91 0.01 3.91 3.83 3.77 3.76 <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week <35h/week 35-45h/week >45h/week Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 18 / 22
Summary: Explaining wage changes Falling part-time penalty and rising wages due to 1 Technological developments increase substitutability between pharmacists, and reduce employers cost of offering part-time work 2 Rising employment in government and non-profit hospitals that may encourage part-time work by bearing its cost [?] Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 19 / 22
Outline 1 Evidence for the family-friendliness of pharmacy 2 Explaining wage changes in pharmacy 3 Lessons from pharmacy Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 20 / 22
Lessons from pharmacy The remaining gender wage gap appears related to poor compatibility between family and (well-paid) professional career Possible remedies: 1 Improved access to child care services, greater involvement of fathers in childcare 2 Increased supply of family-friendly jobs that offer worktime flexibility with little wage penalty Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 21 / 22
Lessons from pharmacy Greater substitutability between workers reduces cost of part-time work for firms Caveat: Substitutability between workers might be correlated with greater substitutability between workers and machines Has pharmacy become a routine occupation that might be replaced by technology absent health sector regulation (handling of prescription drugs)? In other occupations, there may still be potential to improve worker substitutability and improve family-friendliness of jobs ICT can decrease cost of worker co-ordination in many occupations Dorn (CEMFI) Pharmacists June 2014 22 / 22