Wage inequality between disabled and non-disabled people in Brazil
an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition with data from PNS 2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20947/S0102-3098a0340Keywords:
Disabled people, Functional limitations, Wage decomposition, National Health SurveyAbstract
Being a disabled individual implies in numerous difficulties to the individual, such as increased involuntary layoffs, lack of accessibility in the work environment and smaller wages compared to non-disabled people and people with no functional limitations. Therefore, this study aims to analyze wage inequalities between disabled and non-disabled people, highlighting the difference in functionality levels. To verify the drivers of wage inequality, wage equations were estimated, corrected by Heckman selection model, and decomposed using Oaxaca-Blinder method. Microdata from Brazilian National Health Survey from 2019 were analyzed. Results show that, adjusting for differences between observable characteristics, wage differentials between non-disabled mildly disabled reduce to 3,75%, while increasing to 26,02% between non-disabled and severely disabled. For the first group, the differential is attributed to explained variables, such as education, self-reported health and type of employment, while for the second group, it is attributed to the unexplained component. The absence of an expressive and significant unexplained differential for the first group does not imply in the lack of discrimination in the workplace, given that observed variables can carry indirect discrimination. In contrast, the existence of an expressive unexplained differential for the second group may indicate both a discrimination effect and a productivity effect.
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