Wages of Virtue: The Relative Pay of Care Work

TLDR

The study investigates how occupations involving care—such as teaching, counseling, health services, and child supervision—are paid relative to other jobs. The authors analyze panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on workers aged 17–35. After controlling for education, experience, and other factors, care work earns less than other occupations, with both genders experiencing a wage penalty but women bearing a larger share due to higher representation in these jobs.

Abstract

We examine the relative pay of occupations involving care, such as teaching, counseling, providing health services, or supervising children. We use panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth covering workers between 17 and 35 years of age. Care work pays less than other occupations after controlling for the education and employment experience of the workers, many occupation and industry characteristics, and (via individual fixed effects) unmeasured, stable characteristics of those who hold the jobs. Both men and women in care work pay this relative wage penalty. However, more women than men pay the penalty, since more women than men do this kind of work.