IS GENDER PAY DISCRIMINATION ON THE WANE - EVIDENCE FROM PANEL-DATA, 1968-1989

Previous studies of the gender pay gap in the United States have found a narrowing of that gap in the past two decades, but have differed su bstantially in the reported magnitude of that change. This study calcu lates gender earnings differences using Panel Study of Income Dynamics data for 1968-89, a longer time series than has been examined by any similar study. It also employs improved statistical techniques, notabl y an adjustment for selection bias and a recently recommended modifica tion of the most commonly used decomposition technique. The author fin ds a significant decline both in the portion of the differential due t o observed differences between men's and women's characteristics' and in the ''unexplained'' component, which is often attributed to discrim ination. The results of one analysis show that over the 1968-89 period the gender pay gap narrowed to as little as 47%.