A Cross-National Comparison of the Gender Gap in Income

This article examines national labor-market samples from two "dualist" countries (the United States and Canada) and two "corporatist" countries (Norway and Sweden). Labor-market location is less powerful in predicting income in Norway and Sweden where they have more inclusive employment policies. In Sweden, though, the labor-market variables are more important in explaining the income gap. Family effects (marital status and number of children) are weak everywhere but especially in Scandinavia. Nevertheless, because it is encouraged by policies designed to integrate employment and family, part-time paid work has a major effect on the gender gap in income in Norway and Sweden. Women, however, pay more of a penalty than men for part-time employment in North America.