Does pay transparency affect the gender wage gap? Evidence from Austria

Gulyas, Andreas ; Seitz, Sebastian ; Sinha, Sourav

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URL:	https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/61092
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-610924
Document Type:	Working paper
Year of publication:	2021
The title of a journal, publication series:	ZEW Discussion Papers
Volume:	21-076
Place of publication:	Mannheim
Publication language:	English
Institution:	Sonstige Einrichtungen > ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung Außerfakultäre Einrichtungen > Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences - CDSE (Economics) School of Law and Economics > VWL, Makroökonomik (Juniorprofessur) (Gulyas 2017-) School of Law and Economics > Finanzwissenschaft u. Wirtschaftspolitik (Janeba 2004-)
MADOC publication series:	Veröffentlichungen des ZEW (Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung) > ZEW Discussion Papers
Subject:	330 Economics
Classification:	JEL: J08 , J31 , J38 , J78,
Keywords (English):	gender pay gap , pay transparency
Abstract:	We study the 2011 Austrian Pay Transparency Law, which requires firms above a size threshold to publish internal reports on the gender pay gap. Using an event-study design, we show that the policy had no discernible effects on male and female wages, thus leaving the gender wage gap unchanged. The effects are precisely estimated and we rule out that the policy narrowed the gender wage gap by more than 0.4 p.p.. Moreover, we do not find evidence for wage compression within establishments. We discuss several possible reasons why the reform did not reduce the gender wage gap.