State University of New York at Binghamton, USA, Liverpool Hope University, UK, and IZA, Germany
IZA World of Labor role
Author, Topic spokesperson
Expertise
Gender wage differences, Political conflict and cooperation, Natural disasters and the labor market, Earnings distribution
Country
United States
Languages
English - Native speaker
Media experience
Print, Digital, Television, Radio
polachek@binghamton.edu
Phone
1 6077776866
Current position
Distinguished Professor, State University of New York at Binghamton, USA, and Professorial Fellow, Liverpool Hope University, UK (2017-2019)
Website
Qualifications
PhD, Columbia University, USA 1973
Selected publications
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The Economics of Earnings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993 (with W. Stanley Siebert).
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Earnings Over the Lifecycle: The Mincer Earnings Function and its Applications. Boston, MA: NOW Publishing Company, 2008.
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Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap Updated
Despite major efforts at equal pay legislation, gender pay inequality still exists—how can this be put right?
Solomon W. Polachek, October 2019Despite equal pay legislation dating back 50 years, American women still earn 18% less than their male counterparts. In the UK, with its Equal Pay Act of 1970, and France, which legislated in 1972, the gap is 17% and 10% respectively, and in Australia it remains around 14%. Interestingly, the gender pay gap is relatively small for the young but increases as men and women grow older. Similarly, it is large when comparing married men and women, but smaller for singles. Just what can explain these wage patterns? And what can governments do to speed up wage convergence to close the gender pay gap? Clearly, the gender pay gap continues to be an important policy issue.MoreLess