Comparable Worth: A Rejoinder

Both the choice and crowding hypotheses can explain occupational wage differentials. If wage differentials are the product of choice, there is no cause for concern because individuals who freely choose to enter a lower-paying occupation cannot be worse off. If wage differentials are the product of crowding (discrimination), we demonstrate that the best solution is to attack barriers to entry directly rather than impose a minimum wage in female-dominated professions. Imposing comparable worth in the form of a minimum wage in female-dominated occupations is both inefficient and inequitable for the reasons developed in our principal paper." When the rhetoric is swept aside, Becker and Holzhauer appear to make essentially two substantive arguments in response: (1) barriers to entry are so pervasive that they cannot be eliminated and, given the existence of these barriers, comparable worth may make things better; and (2) employers in female-dominated occupations have market power. We briefly discuss these points below.