Preference for the Workplace, Investment in Human Capital, and Gender

Abstract

We use a hypothetical choice methodology to estimate preferences for workplace attributes, and quantify how much these preferences influence pre-labor market human capital investments. This method robustly identifies preferences for various job attributes, free from omitted variable bias and considering the equilibrium job match. Women on average have a higher willingness to pay (WTP) for jobs with greater work flexibility and job stability, and men have a higher WTP for jobs with higher earnings growth. We find that these job preferences are related to college major choices and actual job choices, and can explain a substantial fraction of the (expected and actual) gender wage gap.