COMPARISONS IN GENDER WAGE DIFFERENTIALS AND DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN GERMANY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM BY MICK BROOKES, TIMOTHY HINKS AND DUNCAN WATSON ABSTRACT Due to the lack of consistent data, direct and robust comparisons of cross-country labour markets

Due to the lack of consistent data, direct and robust comparisons of cross-country labour markets have been virtually impossible. This study uses a new panel data series that controls for inconsistencies, thus overcoming this problem. This study estimates gender wage differentials and gender discrimination in the German and United Kingdom labour markets. Panel estimates are used to identify general wage differences between the two countries, with cross-sectional comparisons undertaken to identify changes that have occurred between 1991 and 1993, that are consistent with known labour market policies. It is found that gender wage differentials are greater in the UK than Germany with employer discrimination against females attributed with the majority of the difference in both countries. (JEL Codes: J160, J400, J700) * Centre for Applied Research in Economics, Middlesex University Business School, London NW4 4BT # The authors wish to thank IRISS at Ceps/Instead for financial and academic support.