Ethnic and Gender WageDisparities in Sri Lanka

Ajwad, Mohamed Ihsan ; Kurukulasuriya, Pradeep

World Bank, Washington, D.C.

关键词: WAGE DIFFERENTIATION;    ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION;    GENDER DISCRIMINATION;    WAGE RATES;    LABOR MARKETS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2859
RP-ID  :  WPS2859

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The authors examine wage inequalities inSri Lanka's formal sector using data from the Sri LankaIntegrated Survey 1999-2000. The study aims to: a)investigate whether the labor market is characterized bywage disparities among ethnic and gender groups; b) identifythe determinants of wages and the factors that affect thewage differential; c) analyze the determinants of wagesacross the conditional wage distribution; and d)disaggregate the ethnic or gender wage disparities whereobserved into a component affected by the endowment ofproductive characteristics, as well as a component affectedby the returns to those productive characteristics in thelabor market. The authors find that ethnicity is not asignificant determinant of wages. The result is robust todifferent specifications. In addition, ethnicity is notsignificant in any of the emotional quantiles estimated.However, there is gender disparity in wage rates in SriLanka. The magnitude of this disparity varies depending onthe worker's ethnicity. This gender wage disparityvaries by about 10 percent for Tamils and 48 percent amongother ethnicities. In addition, the authors find that muchof the gender disparity is not explained by productivecharacteristics, implying that discrimination against womenmay play a role. The quantile regression estimates indicatethat the premium paid to male workers in the labor force ismore pronounced in the upper conditional wage rate distribution.