abstract: 'We consider and attempt to understand the gender wage gap across 26 European countries, using 2007 data from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions.(4)The size of the gender wage gap varies considerably across countries, definitions of the gap, and selection-correction mechanisms. Most of the gap cannot be explained by the characteristics available in this data set. Quantile regressions show that, in a number of countries, the wage gap is wider at the top (''glass ceilings'') and/or at the bottom of the wage distribution (''sticky floors''). We find larger mean/median gender gaps and more evidence of glass ceilings for full-time full-year employees, suggesting more female disadvantage in `better'' jobs. These features may be related to country-specific policies that cannot be evaluated at the individual-country level, at a point in time. We use the cross-country variation in the unexplained wage gaps of this larger-than-usual sample of states to explore the influence of (i) country policies that reconcile work and family life and (ii) their wage-setting institutions. We find that country policies and institutions are related to features of their unexplained gender wage gaps in systematic, quantitatively important, ways. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.' affiliation: 'Christofides, LN (Corresponding Author), Univ Cyprus, Dept Econ, POB 20537, CY-1678 Nicosia, Cyprus. Christofides, Louis N.; Polycarpou, Alexandros; Vrachimis, Konstantinos, Univ Cyprus, Dept Econ, CY-1678 Nicosia, Cyprus. Vrachimis, Konstantinos, Cooperat Cent Bank Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus.' author: Christofides, Louis N. and Polycarpou, Alexandros and Vrachimis, Konstantinos author-email: 'louis.christofides@ucy.ac.cy polycarpou@ucy.ac.cy kvrachimis@ccb.coop.com.cy' author_list: - family: Christofides given: Louis N. - family: Polycarpou given: Alexandros - family: Vrachimis given: Konstantinos da: '2023-09-28' doi: 10.1016/j.labeco.2013.01.003 eissn: 1879-1034 files: [] issn: 0927-5371 journal: LABOUR ECONOMICS keywords: 'Gender wage gap; Selection; Quantiles; Work-family reconciliation; Wage-setting institutions' keywords-plus: 'QUANTILE REGRESSION; CHILD-CARE; PAY GAP; DECOMPOSITION; EMPLOYMENT; DIFFERENTIALS; COUNTRIES; BRITAIN; SWEDEN; IMPACT' language: English month: APR number-of-cited-references: '42' pages: 86-102 papis_id: 2baf8a0fb32781dd733cd727cf59fb2c ref: Christofides2013genderwage times-cited: '135' title: Gender wage gaps, `sticky floors' and `glass ceilings' in Europe type: article unique-id: WOS:000316776900007 usage-count-last-180-days: '6' usage-count-since-2013: '183' volume: '21' web-of-science-categories: Economics year: '2013'