“Women’s Economic Progress and Technological Change” by Linda Yuetyee WONG
Author:
Linda Yuetyee WONG
Binghamton University
This paper attempts to assess the power of technological change on women's wage trends from 1982 to 1996 using a simple supply and demand framework. I distinguish two types of technological change: skill-biased and sex-biased technological change; the latter favors women predominantly and is represented by pill usage. My conclusion is that technological change affects females’ wages primarily through changes in relative skill reward, not in pill usage. Yet relative skill reward has similar impact on both men and women's wages; indicating skill-biased technological change is sex-neutral and cannot explain the rising gender premium.
