Decomposing the Gender Wage Gap Across the Wage Distribution: South Korea in 2003 vs. 2013

I analyze the gender wage gap in South Korea across the wage distribution in 2003 vs. 2013. Gaps are decomposed into composition and structural effects using a semi-parametric framework. I find a "glass ceiling" effect in both years with larger wage gaps at the upper end of the wage distribution. Decompositions show that the structural effect decreases, and composition effect increases, in importance as we move up the distribution. Between 2003 and 2013, a fall in the composition effect drives the narrowing of the wage gap across the entire distribution. While a fall in the structural effect augments the narrowing at the lower end of the distribution, a rise in the structural effect curtails it at the upper end, maintaining the glass ceiling. Lastly, controlling for occupational choice causes minor increases in the composition effect at the lower end and structural effect at the upper end of the distribution.