Technological Change, Returnto Education, And Gender Wage Differentialsin Urban China

Using nationally representative micro datasets, this article finds significantregional dispersions in the gender wage differentials and the returns to education inthe Chinese urban labor market. Using these regional variations, this article analyzesthe impact of the return to education on the gender wage differentials. The resultsshow that the return to education is negatively associated with the gender wagedifferentials. Using two samples of migrant workers, we find that the gender wagegap increased between2005and2011. By using the fixed effects model, we alsodiscover that the gender wage gap decreases when the return to education rises. Theseresults indicate that promoting technological progress could narrow gender wage gapin urban China.