Income Gap over the life cycle: an analysis of firm effects and pension reforms

ended

The project will be carried out at the Institut des Politiques Publiques by a team of senior economists specialized in labour economics, pension systems and gender inequalities, with the support of the Direction Générale de la Cohésion Sociale. The overall objective is to create tools for policymakers and the general public allowing a understanding of the options to reduce gender inequalities. The project will tackle gender earnings gap during working life and retirement, analysing the contribution of firms and occupations to the evolution of the gender wage gap over the working life. We’ll build tools to analyse the pension gap, and simulate reforms of the pension system and analyse their impact on the gap. We’ll provide interactive tools to inform on the gender gaps in earnings and pensions, and on policy options to reduce inequalities. We’ll undertake statistical analysis of survey and administrative data, and develop microsimulation tools to simulate pensions and benefits, aiming at reducing the gender wage gap at old ages. We’ll build an interactive app to simulate pensions and gender pension gaps under different scenarios and reforms. Expected results: improved knowledge of the determinants of the gender wage and pension gaps, including the role played by firms and segregation across firms, academic publications and research dissemination to stakeholders and the general public. Interactive online application to raise awareness, allowing people to visualize how gender wage, earnings or pension gaps vary according to several factors, and simulate pension reforms, evaluating their effects on gender pension gaps. Deliverables are technical reports covering the work carried out and results obtained (designed for public debate), scientific publications, web application to inform about the gap and simulate pensions. Persons benefiting from the project: at French and EU level, 1500 policymakers; 500 academics; 200 journalists; 200 000 visit of the website and app.