Occupations and inequality

In the United States, wage premiums are highest for employees in the upper-middle part of the distribution and are small for those in the bottom and the top. In Germany, the wage premium is largest for licensed employees within the lower quarter and reduces significantly toward the top. In both countries, women profit significantly more from licensing.

We study the relation of occupational licensing and gender in Germany and its implication for gender-specific wage inequality.

We study the consequences of self-employment deregulation of German crafts on wages.

We discuss recent theoretical approaches toward mechanisms connecting occupations and social inequality

We discuss recent theories and data about occupations within the labor market.