Wage earners, self employed and gender in the informal sector in Turkey

Abstract EN

This study considers covered and uncovered wage earners and the self-employed.

The analysis is carried out for men and women workers separately.

The 1994 Turkish Household Expenditure Survey is used first to examine how individuals are selected into the covered and uncovered wage earner, and the self-employed categories.

Next, selectivity corrected wage equations are estimated to examine wage determination in these sectors.

Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of sector of work and male-female wage differentials are carried out.

When controlled for the observed characteristics and sample selection, for men, covered wage earners earn more than the uncovered wage earners and the self-employed.

For the covered wage earners, men’s expected wages are about twice higher than women’s wages.

For the uncovered wage earners, men’s wages are near parity with women’s.

These results suggest segmentation for men along the formal and informal lines and substantial discrimination against women in the covered private sector.

1.