Mobility and gender in a segmented labor market: a closer look

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The,  Oct, 1993  by Jeffrey Waddoups,  Djeto Assane

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To examine the notion that male and female workers face a different mobility structure, equation 2 was estimated separately by gender. Equations located in Tables 5a-c indicate that in a number of important respects male and female workers face a different structure of upward intersegment mobility.

Overall, educational attainment as a representation of human capital acquisition yields the most significant results. Formal education is presented as a series of three dummy variables corresponding to various levels of educational attainment.(6) Higher levels of attainment such as a college degree or additional TABULAR DATA OMITTED post high school training are positively correlated with upward mobility. Consistent with predictions found in labor market segmentation literature (Piore, 1975), schooling appears to be of little assistance to male secondary segment workers in their transitions to the subordinate primary (|P.sub.32~). For females, however, results indicate that additional training is positively correlated with the probability of making this transition.

The other human capital variables, AGE and JOBTEN, are proxies for general labor market experience and firm specific human capital, respectively. The predicted impact of general labor market experience represented by AGE is somewhat ambiguous. On the one hand, increased time in the labor market may increase the likelihood of obtaining the information necessary to experience upward labor market transitions. Vietorisz and Harrison (1973), on the other hand, suggest that a feedback mechanism may exist, which generates behavior patterns appropriate for a worker's particular segment location. For example, the longer individuals are located in the secondary segment the more likely it is that they will develop traits incompatible with primary segment employment. This type of state dependence suggests a negative correlation between upward mobility and AGE.(7)

TABULAR DATA OMITTED

Actual parameter estimates on the AGE variable are generally negative and not statistically significant. One exception is found in the |P.sub.21~ equation where male workers are more likely to make this transition with an increase in experience. No such effect is evident among similarly situated females.

Acquisition of firm specific human capital is represented by the JOBTEN variable, where again the hypothesized effect on transition probabilities is somewhat ambiguous. Tenure with a firm is expected to increase the development of firm specific human capital such that the cost of changing jobs increases, which should lead to a negative correlation between upward mobility and tenure. On the other hand, individuals may obtain skills in one job, which qualify them for a higher-level occupation, suggesting a positive correlation (Sicherman and Galor, 1990).

An interesting pattern of signs is observed on the JOBTEN parameter estimates. Signs are uniformly positive for male workers and negative for females, which suggests that the theory of career mobility as put forward by Sicherman and Galor (1990) is a better description of male than female labor market experience. It must be pointed out that this inference is weakened by the lack statistical significance on the estimates.