Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12719
Authors: Aderonke Osikominu; Gregor Pfeifer
Abstract: We estimate gender differences in elicited wage expectations among German University students applying for STEM and non-STEM fields.Descriptively, women expect to earn less than men and also have lower expectations about wages of average graduates across different fields.Using a two-step estimation procedure accounting for self-selection, we find that the gender gap in own expected wages can be explained to the extent of 54-69% by wage expectations for average graduates across different fields. However, gender differences in the wage expectations for average graduates across different fields do not contribute to explaining the gender gap in the choice of STEM majors.
Keywords: gender gap; wage expectations; college major choice; STEM
JEL Codes: I21; J16; J31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| gender differences in wage expectations (J31) | choice of STEM majors (A12) |
| being female (J16) | probability of studying a STEM major (C15) |
| increase in expected wages for average graduates from STEM fields by 10% (J39) | probability of choosing a STEM major (C15) |
| higher expected wages for average graduates from non-STEM fields (J39) | probability of choosing STEM (C15) |
| increase in expected wages for average graduates from mathematics and computer science or natural sciences by 10% (J39) | own expected salary of prospective STEM students (J39) |