The Intergenerational Transmission of Occupational Preferences, Segregation, and Wage Inequality – Empirical Evidence from Europe and the United States

Based on longitudinal data (CNEF 1980 – 2010) the paper analyzes the structuring effects of individual and family background characteristics on occupational choice in Germany, the United States, and Great Britain. We start from the hypothesis that the intergenerational transmission of occupational status promotes persistent occupational segregation and gender wage differentials. We suppose country differences due to the existing institutional settings of the labor markets, educational systems, and family role models. The results confirm that parental characteristics significantly influence occupational preferences, and provide an explanation of persistent gender differences in economic and social status. The gender wage-gap is mainly determined by gender differences in the occupational categories. Female dominated occupations are characterized by a high ’pure" wage-gap which supports the crowding hypothesis