A comparison of male-female earnings differences across two Caribbean economies

Journal of Developing Areas

Volumn 32, Issue 3, 1998, Pages 375-394

  Coppin, Addington ^a  

^a OAKLAND UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

COMPARATIVE STUDY; GENDER DISPARITY; INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON; WAGE GAP;

CENTRAL AMERICA;

EID: 0032438471     PISSN: 0022037X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. The results of the Women in the Caribbean Project are contained in Olive Senior's Working Miracles: Women 's Lives in the English-speaking Caribbean (London: J. Currey, 1991).
2. A perspective on women's labor-market opportunities as of 1946 can be found in George Cumper's The Economy of the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1960), chap. 6. The data contained therein reveal that the bulk of working women were seamstresses, domestics, traders, and agricultural workers. As to opportunities within the government sector, the data for Barbados listed 3.9 percent of the male labor force, but only 0.1 percent of the female labor force, in the occupational category "public service"; corresponding data for Trinidad & Tobago were 5.1 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. Data for the period since 1946 have revealed that labor-market entrants preferred to be listed as "seeking work" rather than to be underemployed in one of the traditional occupational categories. In both countries, women's opportunities improved, in large measure owing to the expansion in the multinational and services sectors (including the public sector). See Addington Coppin, "Women, Men, and Work in a Caribbean Economy: Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 44 (June-September 1995): 103-24.
3. A perspective on women's labor-market opportunities as of 1946 can be found in George Cumper's The Economy of the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1960), chap. 6. The data contained therein reveal that the bulk of working women were seamstresses, domestics, traders, and agricultural workers. As to opportunities within the government sector, the data for Barbados listed 3.9 percent of the male labor force, but only 0.1 percent of the female labor force, in the occupational category "public service"; corresponding data for Trinidad & Tobago were 5.1 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. Data for the period since 1946 have revealed that labor-market entrants preferred to be listed as "seeking work" rather than to be underemployed in one of the traditional occupational categories. In both countries, women's opportunities improved, in large measure owing to the expansion in the multinational and services sectors (including the public sector). See Addington Coppin, "Women, Men, and Work in a Caribbean Economy: Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 44 (June-September 1995): 103-24.
4. A higher ranking on the gender-related development index (GDI) indicates a lower degree of sex inequality. Important components of the GDI were women's share of earned income, relative life expectancy, relative literacy rates, and relative enrollments in various educational institutions. See United Nations Development Programme (hereafter UNDP), Human Development Report 1997 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997); also UNDP, Human Development Report 1995 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 80. Note that the index in the 1997 report is determined on a slightly different basis from the earlier index.
5. A higher ranking on the gender-related development index (GDI) indicates a lower degree of sex inequality. Important components of the GDI were women's share of earned income, relative life expectancy, relative literacy rates, and relative enrollments in various educational institutions. See United Nations Development Programme (hereafter UNDP), Human Development Report 1997 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997); also UNDP, Human Development Report 1995 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), p. 80. Note that the index in the 1997 report is determined on a slightly different basis from the earlier index.
6. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
7. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
8. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
9. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
10. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
11. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
12. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
13. Thus, by 1990, labor force participation rates (LFPRs) for this cohort of women stood at 71.6 percent for Barbados and 42.3 percent for Trinidad & Tobago. See Coppin, "Women, Men and Work." In Trinidad & Tobago, the largest age-specific change in female LFPR over the 1970-90 period was 22.3 percentage points, and it occurred for women in the 25-34 age cohort; in Barbados, the largest change for women over the corresponding period was 32.5 percentage points, and it occurred within the cohort aged 35-44 years old. Differences in ethnic composition are certainly of importance in explaining of patterns of inequality between men and women in these two economies. The Barbados population is more homogeneous, being predominantly of African descent. Trinidad & Tobago's population is ethnically more diverse; however, its larger African and Indian segments, roughly equivalent in size, constitute over 80 percent of the population. For data on male and female LFPRs in the Caribbean going back to 1891, see Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111. While a rational choice perspective might suggest that both the downward and the upward trends represented ameliorated circumstances for Caribbean women, alternative hypotheses have been offered for the phase of declining LFPRs, including official ideology, technological change, and sex discrimination. See Joyce Cole, "Official Ideology and the Education of Women in the English-Speaking Caribbean, 1835-1945, with Special Reference to Barbados," Women and Education, Vol. 5 of the Women in the Caribbean Project (Cave Hill, Barbados: Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of the West Indies, 1982); Janice Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education for Girls in Barbados, 1907-43: A Preliminary Analysis," in Engendering History: Caribbean Women in Historical Perspective, ed. Verene Shepherd, Bridget Brereton, and Barbara Bailey (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1995); and Carl Campbell, Colony and Nation: A Short History of Education in Trinidad & Tobago, 1834-1986 (Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle, 1992). For a perspective on technological change in the agricultural sector see Jack Harewood, "Changes in the Demand for and the Supply of Labour in the Commonwealth Caribbean," Social and Economic Studies 21 (March 1972): 44-60; also Cumper, Economy of the West Indies. Legal labor-market discrimination against women was known to exist in the form of lower pay for equal work and the expulsion at marriage from public-sector careers. This was often accompanied by loss of pension rights and gratuities. See Campbell, Colony and Nation.
14. It is, of course, recognized here that acceptance of this approach as providing the most appropriate explanation of the link between human capital and the economy is not universal. For an analysis of education in the West Indies that is rooted in a "system-maintenance" perspective, see M. Kazzim Bacchus, Education as and for Legitimacy: Developments in West Indian Education between 1846 and 1895 (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1994). See also Errol Miller, "The Legacy of Post-Emancipation Education: Whose Interests Does It Serve?" Caribbean Affairs 2 (July-September 1989): 125-42.
15. It is, of course, recognized here that acceptance of this approach as providing the most appropriate explanation of the link between human capital and the economy is not universal. For an analysis of education in the West Indies that is rooted in a "system-maintenance" perspective, see M. Kazzim Bacchus, Education as and for Legitimacy: Developments in West Indian Education between 1846 and 1895 (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1994). See also Errol Miller, "The Legacy of Post-Emancipation Education: Whose Interests Does It Serve?" Caribbean Affairs 2 (July-September 1989): 125-42.
16. The legislation effectively tied the ex-slave population to specific plantations within the island.
17. For example, many Barbadians readily obtained positions in the Trinidad police force. See Donald Wood, Trinidad in Transition: The Years after Slavery (London: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 66.
18. See Eric Williams, History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago (London: Andre Deutsch, 1964); and Bridget Brereton, A History of Modern Trinidad, 1783-1962 (Kingston, Jamaica: Heinemann, 1981).
19. See Eric Williams, History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago (London: Andre Deutsch, 1964); and Bridget Brereton, A History of Modern Trinidad, 1783-1962 (Kingston, Jamaica: Heinemann, 1981).
20. See Wood, Trinidad in Transition.
21. In Barbados, where there was about one elementary school per square mile, the plantocracy took every advantage to prevent a reduction in the available labor supply, of which child labor was a part. See Bonham Richardson, Panama Money in Barbados, 1900-1920 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1985). Gordon mentions correspondence to the Barbados Agriculturalist, which lamented that "the sons and daughters of the laboring classes have become impregnated with the idea that the education which is imparted to them makes them better than their fathers, and they have begun to look with disdain upon mere manual labour." See Shirley Gordon, A Century of West Indian Education (London: Longmans, 1963), p. 135. In Trinidad, the available supply of school places was significantly smaller than the number of children in the school-age population (idem).
22. In Barbados, where there was about one elementary school per square mile, the plantocracy took every advantage to prevent a reduction in the available labor supply, of which child labor was a part. See Bonham Richardson, Panama Money in Barbados, 1900-1920 (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1985). Gordon mentions correspondence to the Barbados Agriculturalist, which lamented that "the sons and daughters of the laboring classes have become impregnated with the idea that the education which is imparted to them makes them better than their fathers, and they have begun to look with disdain upon mere manual labour." See Shirley Gordon, A Century of West Indian Education (London: Longmans, 1963), p. 135. In Trinidad, the available supply of school places was significantly smaller than the number of children in the school-age population (idem).
23. For example, in Barbados, the legislature approved one-third of the education budget to support secondary education (500 students), with the remaining two-thirds to support elementary education (23,000 students), rationalizing that the system made it possible for anyone to win a scholarship. By 1932, the ratio of students at recognized secondary schools to those at primary schools in both colonies had not yet exceeded 3 percent. See Great Britain, Colonial Office, Report of a Commission Appointed to Consider Problems of Secondary and Primary Education in Trinidad, Barbados, Leeward Islands, and Windward Islands: 1931-32 (London: His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1933).
24. See Campbell, Short History, p. 89.
25. The Mitchinson Commission opined that "the key to the problem of education is to be found in the establishment, if possible, of thoroughly sound female education . . . for early maternal teaching" (see Cole, "Official Ideology," p. 25).
26. For administrative purposes, the island of Tobago was made a ward of Trinidad in 1888.
27. The significant male bias in emigration from Barbados resulted in a sex ratio in 1921 of one male per two females for the 20-59 age group among the remaining residents. See, e.g., Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education," p. 270; also George Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 4 (September 1955): 245-88. Meanwhile, there was an excess of adult males over females in Trinidad & Tobago. This was, however, not closely related to the Barbados situation; rather, the chief source of Trinidad & Tobago's male surplus was the immigration from India. See Patricia Mohammed, "Writing Gender into History: The Negotiation of Gender Relations among Indian Men and Women in Post-indenture Trinidad Society, 1917-47," in Engendering History, ed. Shepherd, Brereton, and Bailey. The chief destination for Barbadian males during the early part of the twentieth century was the Panama canal zone. Richardson determined that as many as 45,000 Barbadians emigrated to the canal zone (see Richardson, Panama Money, p. 3), while Roberts put the net emigration from Barbados in the period 1861 to 1921 at around 1 50,000 (see Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados"). Combining of the foregoing data with other data on worker rates by sex (Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111) indicates that there were actually more women than men in the Barbados labor force during the period 1891 to 1921.
28. The significant male bias in emigration from Barbados resulted in a sex ratio in 1921 of one male per two females for the 20-59 age group among the remaining residents. See, e.g., Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education," p. 270; also George Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 4 (September 1955): 245-88. Meanwhile, there was an excess of adult males over females in Trinidad & Tobago. This was, however, not closely related to the Barbados situation; rather, the chief source of Trinidad & Tobago's male surplus was the immigration from India. See Patricia Mohammed, "Writing Gender into History: The Negotiation of Gender Relations among Indian Men and Women in Post-indenture Trinidad Society, 1917-47," in Engendering History, ed. Shepherd, Brereton, and Bailey. The chief destination for Barbadian males during the early part of the twentieth century was the Panama canal zone. Richardson determined that as many as 45,000 Barbadians emigrated to the canal zone (see Richardson, Panama Money, p. 3), while Roberts put the net emigration from Barbados in the period 1861 to 1921 at around 1 50,000 (see Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados"). Combining of the foregoing data with other data on worker rates by sex (Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111) indicates that there were actually more women than men in the Barbados labor force during the period 1891 to 1921.
29. The significant male bias in emigration from Barbados resulted in a sex ratio in 1921 of one male per two females for the 20-59 age group among the remaining residents. See, e.g., Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education," p. 270; also George Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 4 (September 1955): 245-88. Meanwhile, there was an excess of adult males over females in Trinidad & Tobago. This was, however, not closely related to the Barbados situation; rather, the chief source of Trinidad & Tobago's male surplus was the immigration from India. See Patricia Mohammed, "Writing Gender into History: The Negotiation of Gender Relations among Indian Men and Women in Post-indenture Trinidad Society, 1917-47," in Engendering History, ed. Shepherd, Brereton, and Bailey. The chief destination for Barbadian males during the early part of the twentieth century was the Panama canal zone. Richardson determined that as many as 45,000 Barbadians emigrated to the canal zone (see Richardson, Panama Money, p. 3), while Roberts put the net emigration from Barbados in the period 1861 to 1921 at around 1 50,000 (see Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados"). Combining of the foregoing data with other data on worker rates by sex (Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111) indicates that there were actually more women than men in the Barbados labor force during the period 1891 to 1921.
30. The significant male bias in emigration from Barbados resulted in a sex ratio in 1921 of one male per two females for the 20-59 age group among the remaining residents. See, e.g., Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education," p. 270; also George Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 4 (September 1955): 245-88. Meanwhile, there was an excess of adult males over females in Trinidad & Tobago. This was, however, not closely related to the Barbados situation; rather, the chief source of Trinidad & Tobago's male surplus was the immigration from India. See Patricia Mohammed, "Writing Gender into History: The Negotiation of Gender Relations among Indian Men and Women in Post-indenture Trinidad Society, 1917-47," in Engendering History, ed. Shepherd, Brereton, and Bailey. The chief destination for Barbadian males during the early part of the twentieth century was the Panama canal zone. Richardson determined that as many as 45,000 Barbadians emigrated to the canal zone (see Richardson, Panama Money, p. 3), while Roberts put the net emigration from Barbados in the period 1861 to 1921 at around 1 50,000 (see Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados"). Combining of the foregoing data with other data on worker rates by sex (Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111) indicates that there were actually more women than men in the Barbados labor force during the period 1891 to 1921.
31. The significant male bias in emigration from Barbados resulted in a sex ratio in 1921 of one male per two females for the 20-59 age group among the remaining residents. See, e.g., Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education," p. 270; also George Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 4 (September 1955): 245-88. Meanwhile, there was an excess of adult males over females in Trinidad & Tobago. This was, however, not closely related to the Barbados situation; rather, the chief source of Trinidad & Tobago's male surplus was the immigration from India. See Patricia Mohammed, "Writing Gender into History: The Negotiation of Gender Relations among Indian Men and Women in Post-indenture Trinidad Society, 1917-47," in Engendering History, ed. Shepherd, Brereton, and Bailey. The chief destination for Barbadian males during the early part of the twentieth century was the Panama canal zone. Richardson determined that as many as 45,000 Barbadians emigrated to the canal zone (see Richardson, Panama Money, p. 3), while Roberts put the net emigration from Barbados in the period 1861 to 1921 at around 1 50,000 (see Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados"). Combining of the foregoing data with other data on worker rates by sex (Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111) indicates that there were actually more women than men in the Barbados labor force during the period 1891 to 1921.
32. The significant male bias in emigration from Barbados resulted in a sex ratio in 1921 of one male per two females for the 20-59 age group among the remaining residents. See, e.g., Mayers, "Access to Secondary Education," p. 270; also George Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados," Social and Economic Studies 4 (September 1955): 245-88. Meanwhile, there was an excess of adult males over females in Trinidad & Tobago. This was, however, not closely related to the Barbados situation; rather, the chief source of Trinidad & Tobago's male surplus was the immigration from India. See Patricia Mohammed, "Writing Gender into History: The Negotiation of Gender Relations among Indian Men and Women in Post-indenture Trinidad Society, 1917-47," in Engendering History, ed. Shepherd, Brereton, and Bailey. The chief destination for Barbadian males during the early part of the twentieth century was the Panama canal zone. Richardson determined that as many as 45,000 Barbadians emigrated to the canal zone (see Richardson, Panama Money, p. 3), while Roberts put the net emigration from Barbados in the period 1861 to 1921 at around 1 50,000 (see Roberts, "Emigration from Barbados"). Combining of the foregoing data with other data on worker rates by sex (Senior, Working Miracles, p. 111) indicates that there were actually more women than men in the Barbados labor force during the period 1891 to 1921.
33. This came about on the recommendations of a royal commission inquiring into the causes of the riots. See Great Britain, Colonial Office, West India Royal Commission Report, Cmd. 6607 (London: His Majesty's Stationary Office, 1945).
34. The migration to Britain proceeded apace until the sentiment there turned against immigrants from the colonies and culminated in the passage of the British Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962. Note that this emigration to Britain was of far greater importance to Barbados than to Trinidad & Tobago, which continued to experience a net in-migration during this period when the remainder of the British Caribbean was experiencing a significant net out-migration. See Edwin Reubens, Migration and Development in the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1961); Norma Andrews, "Trinidad and Tobago," in Population Policies in the Caribbean, ed. Aaron Segal (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1975); and Ransford Palmer, "A Decade of West Indian Migration to the United States, 1962-1972: An Economic Analysis," Social and Economic Studies 23 (December 1974): 571-87. See also David Lowenthal, West Indian Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972). Apart from the relatively better performance of the Trinidad & Tobago economy during the period, some of the in-migration was associated with the fact that among the terms for establishing the capital of the West Indies Federation in Port of Spain was that Trinidad & Tobago would relax immigration requirements. The 1960 population census for the Caribbean revealed the Barbados population to be 232,000 and the Trinidad & Tobago population to be 826,000. These compare with the 1946 population figures of 193,000 for Barbados and 558,000 for Trinidad & Tobago.
35. The migration to Britain proceeded apace until the sentiment there turned against immigrants from the colonies and culminated in the passage of the British Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962. Note that this emigration to Britain was of far greater importance to Barbados than to Trinidad & Tobago, which continued to experience a net in-migration during this period when the remainder of the British Caribbean was experiencing a significant net out-migration. See Edwin Reubens, Migration and Development in the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1961); Norma Andrews, "Trinidad and Tobago," in Population Policies in the Caribbean, ed. Aaron Segal (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1975); and Ransford Palmer, "A Decade of West Indian Migration to the United States, 1962-1972: An Economic Analysis," Social and Economic Studies 23 (December 1974): 571-87. See also David Lowenthal, West Indian Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972). Apart from the relatively better performance of the Trinidad & Tobago economy during the period, some of the in-migration was associated with the fact that among the terms for establishing the capital of the West Indies Federation in Port of Spain was that Trinidad & Tobago would relax immigration requirements. The 1960 population census for the Caribbean revealed the Barbados population to be 232,000 and the Trinidad & Tobago population to be 826,000. These compare with the 1946 population figures of 193,000 for Barbados and 558,000 for Trinidad & Tobago.
36. The migration to Britain proceeded apace until the sentiment there turned against immigrants from the colonies and culminated in the passage of the British Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962. Note that this emigration to Britain was of far greater importance to Barbados than to Trinidad & Tobago, which continued to experience a net in-migration during this period when the remainder of the British Caribbean was experiencing a significant net out-migration. See Edwin Reubens, Migration and Development in the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1961); Norma Andrews, "Trinidad and Tobago," in Population Policies in the Caribbean, ed. Aaron Segal (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1975); and Ransford Palmer, "A Decade of West Indian Migration to the United States, 1962-1972: An Economic Analysis," Social and Economic Studies 23 (December 1974): 571-87. See also David Lowenthal, West Indian Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972). Apart from the relatively better performance of the Trinidad & Tobago economy during the period, some of the in-migration was associated with the fact that among the terms for establishing the capital of the West Indies Federation in Port of Spain was that Trinidad & Tobago would relax immigration requirements. The 1960 population census for the Caribbean revealed the Barbados population to be 232,000 and the Trinidad & Tobago population to be 826,000. These compare with the 1946 population figures of 193,000 for Barbados and 558,000 for Trinidad & Tobago.
37. The migration to Britain proceeded apace until the sentiment there turned against immigrants from the colonies and culminated in the passage of the British Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962. Note that this emigration to Britain was of far greater importance to Barbados than to Trinidad & Tobago, which continued to experience a net in-migration during this period when the remainder of the British Caribbean was experiencing a significant net out-migration. See Edwin Reubens, Migration and Development in the West Indies (Kingston, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1961); Norma Andrews, "Trinidad and Tobago," in Population Policies in the Caribbean, ed. Aaron Segal (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1975); and Ransford Palmer, "A Decade of West Indian Migration to the United States, 1962-1972: An Economic Analysis," Social and Economic Studies 23 (December 1974): 571-87. See also David Lowenthal, West Indian Societies (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972). Apart from the relatively better performance of the Trinidad & Tobago economy during the period, some of the in-migration was associated with the fact that among the terms for establishing the capital of the West Indies Federation in Port of Spain was that Trinidad & Tobago would relax immigration requirements. The 1960 population census for the Caribbean revealed the Barbados population to be 232,000 and the Trinidad & Tobago population to be 826,000. These compare with the 1946 population figures of 193,000 for Barbados and 558,000 for Trinidad & Tobago.
38. Sex bias, however, still persisted, so long as the grammar schools constituted the preferred segment of the secondary system and retained more places for boys than girls.
39. This had also been recommended by the Marriott-Mayhew Commission. See Great Britain, Report of a Commission. It was reiterated by the Moyne Commission. See Great Britain, West India Royal Commission Report. Some discussion of the experiences of Caribbean women in coeducational and single-sex schools is contained in Hermoine McKenzie, "The Educational Experiences of Caribbean Women," Social and Economic Studies 35 (September 1986): 65-105.
40. This had also been recommended by the Marriott-Mayhew Commission. See Great Britain, Report of a Commission. It was reiterated by the Moyne Commission. See Great Britain, West India Royal Commission Report. Some discussion of the experiences of Caribbean women in coeducational and single-sex schools is contained in Hermoine McKenzie, "The Educational Experiences of Caribbean Women," Social and Economic Studies 35 (September 1986): 65-105.
41. See Government of Barbados, Ministry of Education, White Paper on Educational Reform: Preparing for the Twenty-first Century (Bridgetown, Barbados: Government Printing Office, 1995).
42. See World Bank, Caribbean Region: Access, Quality, and Efficiency in Education (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1992).
43. See Government of Barbados, Ministry of Education, White Paper on Educational Reform; also Government of Trinidad & Tobago, Ministry of Education, Report of the National Task Force on Education (Port of Spain, Trinidad: Government Printery, 1993).
44. See Gary Becker, Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education, 2d ed. (New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1975); also Jacob Mincer, Schooling, Experience, and Earnings (New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1974).
45. See Gary Becker, Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education, 2d ed. (New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1975); also Jacob Mincer, Schooling, Experience, and Earnings (New York: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1974).
46. 1s.
47. It should be noted that the desirability of a government-sector job to the masses in the Caribbean reflected the discriminatory environment within the private sector. See, e.g., Lloyd Braithwaite, "Social Stratification in Trinidad," Social and Economic Studies 2 (October 1953): 5-175; Sidney Greenfield, English Rustics in Black Skin: A Study of Modern Family Forms in a Pre-industrializedSociety (New Haven, CT: College and University Press, 1966); and W. Penn Handwerker, Women's Power and Social Revolution: Fertility Transition in the West Indies (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989).
48. It should be noted that the desirability of a government-sector job to the masses in the Caribbean reflected the discriminatory environment within the private sector. See, e.g., Lloyd Braithwaite, "Social Stratification in Trinidad," Social and Economic Studies 2 (October 1953): 5-175; Sidney Greenfield, English Rustics in Black Skin: A Study of Modern Family Forms in a Pre-industrializedSociety (New Haven, CT: College and University Press, 1966); and W. Penn Handwerker, Women's Power and Social Revolution: Fertility Transition in the West Indies (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989).
49. It should be noted that the desirability of a government-sector job to the masses in the Caribbean reflected the discriminatory environment within the private sector. See, e.g., Lloyd Braithwaite, "Social Stratification in Trinidad," Social and Economic Studies 2 (October 1953): 5-175; Sidney Greenfield, English Rustics in Black Skin: A Study of Modern Family Forms in a Pre-industrializedSociety (New Haven, CT: College and University Press, 1966); and W. Penn Handwerker, Women's Power and Social Revolution: Fertility Transition in the West Indies (Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1989).
50. See, e.g., Sanders Korenman and David Neumark, "Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?" Journal of Human Resources 26 (Spring 1991): 282-307; also Robert Nakosteen and Michael Zimmer, "Men, Money, and Marriage: Are High-Earners More Prone than Low Earners to Marry?" Social Science Quarterly 78 (March 1997): 66-82. The former study argued that married men are more likely to be promoted than are single men, while the latter argued that single men with favorable earnings are more likely to marry, while married men with favorable earnings are less likely to become separated or divorced. An historical perspective within the Caribbean context is contained in Thomas Simey, Welfare Planning in the West Indies (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946).
51. See, e.g., Sanders Korenman and David Neumark, "Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?" Journal of Human Resources 26 (Spring 1991): 282-307; also Robert Nakosteen and Michael Zimmer, "Men, Money, and Marriage: Are High-Earners More Prone than Low Earners to Marry?" Social Science Quarterly 78 (March 1997): 66-82. The former study argued that married men are more likely to be promoted than are single men, while the latter argued that single men with favorable earnings are more likely to marry, while married men with favorable earnings are less likely to become separated or divorced. An historical perspective within the Caribbean context is contained in Thomas Simey, Welfare Planning in the West Indies (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946).
52. See, e.g., Sanders Korenman and David Neumark, "Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?" Journal of Human Resources 26 (Spring 1991): 282-307; also Robert Nakosteen and Michael Zimmer, "Men, Money, and Marriage: Are High-Earners More Prone than Low Earners to Marry?" Social Science Quarterly 78 (March 1997): 66-82. The former study argued that married men are more likely to be promoted than are single men, while the latter argued that single men with favorable earnings are more likely to marry, while married men with favorable earnings are less likely to become separated or divorced. An historical perspective within the Caribbean context is contained in Thomas Simey, Welfare Planning in the West Indies (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946).
53. Early evidence of this for the United States appeared in Martha Hill's "The Wage Effects of Marital Status and Children," Journal of Human Resources 14 (Summer 1979): 579-92, while more recent evidence may be found in The New Role of Women: Family Formation in Modern Societies, ed. Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1995). With respect to literature for less developed countries, a World Bank-sponsored study for Latin America obtained a marital premium for women in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Lima (Peru), and Uruguay. See George Psacharopoulos and Zafiris Tzannatos, eds., Case Studies on Women's Employment and Pay in Latin America (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1992).
54. Early evidence of this for the United States appeared in Martha Hill's "The Wage Effects of Marital Status and Children," Journal of Human Resources 14 (Summer 1979): 579-92, while more recent evidence may be found in The New Role of Women: Family Formation in Modern Societies, ed. Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1995). With respect to literature for less developed countries, a World Bank-sponsored study for Latin America obtained a marital premium for women in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Lima (Peru), and Uruguay. See George Psacharopoulos and Zafiris Tzannatos, eds., Case Studies on Women's Employment and Pay in Latin America (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1992).
55. Early evidence of this for the United States appeared in Martha Hill's "The Wage Effects of Marital Status and Children," Journal of Human Resources 14 (Summer 1979): 579-92, while more recent evidence may be found in The New Role of Women: Family Formation in Modern Societies, ed. Hans-Peter Blossfeld (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1995). With respect to literature for less developed countries, a World Bank-sponsored study for Latin America obtained a marital premium for women in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Lima (Peru), and Uruguay. See George Psacharopoulos and Zafiris Tzannatos, eds., Case Studies on Women's Employment and Pay in Latin America (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1992).
56. See Addington Coppin and Reed Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago," Journal of Development Studies 34 (February 1998): 116-34. It should, however, be noted that a less-detailed study for Trinidad & Tobago that focused on women of African and Mixed ethnicities obtained an earnings premium for women in the Mixed, but not in the African ethnic grouping. See Addington Coppin, "Color in an English-Speaking Caribbean Labor Market," Journal of Developing Areas 31 (Spring 1997): 399-410. Coppin speculated that, to the extent that color correlated with social class, the inconsistency in outcomes for the two groups of women might have been a result of different routes to family formation across class lines. Recall that in
57. See Addington Coppin and Reed Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago," Journal of Development Studies 34 (February 1998): 116-34. It should, however, be noted that a less-detailed study for Trinidad & Tobago that focused on women of African and Mixed ethnicities obtained an earnings premium for women in the Mixed, but not in the African ethnic grouping. See Addington Coppin, "Color in an English-Speaking Caribbean Labor Market," Journal of Developing Areas 31 (Spring 1997): 399-410. Coppin speculated that, to the extent that color correlated with social class, the inconsistency in outcomes for the two groups of women might have been a result of different routes to family formation across class lines. Recall that in Caribbean society, individuals of African ethnicity have historically been accorded lower social status than those of Mixed ethnicity.
58. See Jacob Mincer and Solomon Polachek, "Family Investments in Human Capital: Earnings of Women," Journal of Political Economy 82 (March-April 1974): S76-S108.
59. Skeptics of the applicability of human capital theory to developing countries have focused both on the necessity for developing countries to target their educational systems to meet manpower needs, and on the actual contribution of schooling to productivity. Those skeptical of the contribution to productivity have argued that schooling, rather than increasing productivity, serves merely as a sieve to select those who would become credentialed. Thereby, better-off individuals, who can afford more schooling, improve their chances of getting good jobs. Such unequal access to education serves to perpetuate the class structure. See Michael Spence, "Job Market Signalling," Quarterly Journal of Economics 87 (August 1973): 355-74; also Ronald Dore, The Diploma Disease: Education, Qualifications, and Development (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976).
60. Skeptics of the applicability of human capital theory to developing countries have focused both on the necessity for developing countries to target their educational systems to meet manpower needs, and on the actual contribution of schooling to productivity. Those skeptical of the contribution to productivity have argued that schooling, rather than increasing productivity, serves merely as a sieve to select those who would become credentialed. Thereby, better-off individuals, who can afford more schooling, improve their chances of getting good jobs. Such unequal access to education serves to perpetuate the class structure. See Michael Spence, "Job Market Signalling," Quarterly Journal of Economics 87 (August 1973): 355-74; also Ronald Dore, The Diploma Disease: Education, Qualifications, and Development (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976).
61. A caveat must be noted here in regard to these levels of schooling. Primary education for the majority of older workers comprised nine years at "composite" or "all-age" schools. When subsequent expansion of secondary schooling automatically transferred the equivalent of the last three grades to secondary schools, the age for compulsory attendance was not immediately changed. It is thus possible, within the Barbados data set, that individuals with the same number of years of schooling classified their "level attained" differently.
62. Institutional training refers to training obtained at some formal training institution. Note that the Trinidad & Tobago Continuous Sample Survey of the Population (CSSP) questionnaire groups those who completed training with those who have attempted or are still undergoing training. Since, however, the same questions are asked of both men and women, the reliability of the outcomes for purposes of comparing sex differences across the two economies of interest is probably less dubious than it would be if the focus of the present analysis were an across-country comparison of outcomes.
63. The data for both countries reveal government-sector workers to be more likely than private-sector workers to have institutional training, while the converse obtained in the case of on-the-job training (OJT).
64. In the Trinidad & Tobago data set, 58 percent of the working Indian males are legally married, compared with 34 percent of the African males.
65. When the Trinidad & Tobago private sector failed to take significant advantage of the incentives offered for domestically focused industries, the Development Plan for 1969-73 envisioned a greater role for government involvement in the economy. This came about sooner than anticipated, however, when government felt compelled to purchase the assets of some departing multinational companies. Additional pressure for government involvement came from the Black Power movement in 1970. It should be noted that the seven-year-long recession during the 1980s has propelled efforts to privatize state-owned enterprises in Trinidad & Tobago.
66. Recall the calculation in note 24 for determining returns to university education here.
67. The smaller proportion of men who go to university in Trinidad & Tobago might, in part, be responsible for the higher returns to that level of education.
68. As already alluded to, since the Barbados Continuous Household Sample Survey (CHSS) inquired only of the level of schooling attained, the "years of schooling" measure imputed to each individual in the Barbados data set was the number of years necessary to complete the level of schooling attained. An alternative approach would have been to employ age in the presence of the education variables as the proxy measure for experience. Since one section of the present work performs decomposition analysis on the mean earnings differential for males and females, one important ramification of employing these two alternative measures is noted here for the outcomes of the analysis contained in table 3. While the shapes for the experience-earnings profiles and the age-earnings profiles obtained will prove similar, the higher mean obtained for the age variable biases upward the extent of the "unexplained" component of the earnings difference owing to "experience." The bias is captured in the magnitude of the intercept terms, and this affects the differential due to the "undifferentiated factors" captured in the intercept. (Note: the analysis using the age proxy was explicit to an earlier version of this work.)
69. Further testing interacting education with government-sector employees revealed that the earnings premium for government workers was less likely to obtain at higher levels of education. One plausible explanation relates to the broader array of university-level fields of education facing individuals who choose private-sector employment. On average, university-educated, government-sector workers are more likely to be trained in the humanities, education, and the social sciences, whereas their private-sector counterparts are more likely to be trained in business, law, medicine, and science. It would also not be surprising to find that the average government-sector worker who attended university pursued that level of education at a later age than his private-sector counterpart, and that such pursuits were sponsored by the government.
70. An ethnic disaggregation of the Trinidad & Tobago data reveals that a marital earnings premium existed only for women in the non-African/non-Indian group; the coefficient on the marriage variable there is 0.212. This group of women has higher average earnings and higher levels of human capital endowments than either African or Indian women in Trinidad & Tobago, and historically it has been a higher-status group. As to why women in this group might obtain a premium to marriage, it is speculated that those with better earnings prospects would be more likely to marry. This, of course, remains a testable hypothesis. No obvious explanation is offered here as to why Afro-Trinidadian women would obtain no such premium while working women in Barbados, who are predominantly of African ethnicity, do. Social scientists studying working-class Afro-Caribbean women have pointed to the fact that many of them have married later in the life cycle, e.g., when their children were grown. The explanations offered included securing the routes to inheritance for their heirs and a propensity for middle-class respectability. See Raymond T. Smith, Kinship and Class in the West Indies: A Genealogical Study of Jamaica and Guyana (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988); also George Roberts and Sonja Sinclair, Women in Jamaica: Patterns of Reproduction and Family (Millwood, NY: KTO, 1978).
71. An ethnic disaggregation of the Trinidad & Tobago data reveals that a marital earnings premium existed only for women in the non-African/non-Indian group; the coefficient on the marriage variable there is 0.212. This group of women has higher average earnings and higher levels of human capital endowments than either African or Indian women in Trinidad & Tobago, and historically it has been a higher-status group. As to why women in this group might obtain a premium to marriage, it is speculated that those with better earnings prospects would be more likely to marry. This, of course, remains a testable hypothesis. No obvious explanation is offered here as to why Afro-Trinidadian women would obtain no such premium while working women in Barbados, who are predominantly of African ethnicity, do. Social scientists studying working-class Afro-Caribbean women have pointed to the fact that many of them have married later in the life cycle, e.g., when their children were grown. The explanations offered included securing the routes to inheritance for their heirs and a propensity for middle-class respectability. See Raymond T. Smith, Kinship and Class in the West Indies: A Genealogical Study of Jamaica and Guyana (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988); also George Roberts and Sonja Sinclair, Women in Jamaica: Patterns of Reproduction and Family (Millwood, NY: KTO, 1978).
72. These are often referred to in the literature as the Blinder/Oaxaca decompositions. See Alan Blinder, "Race Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources 8 (Fall 1973): 436-55; and Ronald Oaxaca, "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review 9 (October 1973): 693-709. Subsequent advances in the wage/earnings decomposition literature include Jeremiah Cotton, "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (May 1988): 236-43; David Neumark, "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources 23 (Summer 1988): 279-95; and Ronald Oaxaca and Michael Ransom, "On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Journal of Econometrics 61 (March 1994): 5-21. Given (1) the nature of the available data and (2) the nature of the results (see table 3), it was felt that the benefits from their explicit utilization here would be marginal, since their results generally fall within the range of the results obtained by the approaches employed here. See, e.g., Coppin and Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago."
73. These are often referred to in the literature as the Blinder/Oaxaca decompositions. See Alan Blinder, "Race Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources 8 (Fall 1973): 436-55; and Ronald Oaxaca, "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review 9 (October 1973): 693-709. Subsequent advances in the wage/earnings decomposition literature include Jeremiah Cotton, "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (May 1988): 236-43; David Neumark, "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources 23 (Summer 1988): 279-95; and Ronald Oaxaca and Michael Ransom, "On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Journal of Econometrics 61 (March 1994): 5-21. Given (1) the nature of the available data and (2) the nature of the results (see table 3), it was felt that the benefits from their explicit utilization here would be marginal, since their results generally fall within the range of the results obtained by the approaches employed here. See, e.g., Coppin and Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago."
74. These are often referred to in the literature as the Blinder/Oaxaca decompositions. See Alan Blinder, "Race Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources 8 (Fall 1973): 436-55; and Ronald Oaxaca, "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review 9 (October 1973): 693-709. Subsequent advances in the wage/earnings decomposition literature include Jeremiah Cotton, "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (May 1988): 236-43; David Neumark, "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources 23 (Summer 1988): 279-95; and Ronald Oaxaca and Michael Ransom, "On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Journal of Econometrics 61 (March 1994): 5-21. Given (1) the nature of the available data and (2) the nature of the results (see table 3), it was felt that the benefits from their explicit utilization here would be marginal, since their results generally fall within the range of the results obtained by the approaches employed here. See, e.g., Coppin and Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago."
75. These are often referred to in the literature as the Blinder/Oaxaca decompositions. See Alan Blinder, "Race Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources 8 (Fall 1973): 436-55; and Ronald Oaxaca, "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review 9 (October 1973): 693-709. Subsequent advances in the wage/earnings decomposition literature include Jeremiah Cotton, "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (May 1988): 236-43; David Neumark, "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources 23 (Summer 1988): 279-95; and Ronald Oaxaca and Michael Ransom, "On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Journal of Econometrics 61 (March 1994): 5-21. Given (1) the nature of the available data and (2) the nature of the results (see table 3), it was felt that the benefits from their explicit utilization here would be marginal, since their results generally fall within the range of the results obtained by the approaches employed here. See, e.g., Coppin and Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago."
76. These are often referred to in the literature as the Blinder/Oaxaca decompositions. See Alan Blinder, "Race Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources 8 (Fall 1973): 436-55; and Ronald Oaxaca, "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review 9 (October 1973): 693-709. Subsequent advances in the wage/earnings decomposition literature include Jeremiah Cotton, "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (May 1988): 236-43; David Neumark, "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources 23 (Summer 1988): 279-95; and Ronald Oaxaca and Michael Ransom, "On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Journal of Econometrics 61 (March 1994): 5-21. Given (1) the nature of the available data and (2) the nature of the results (see table 3), it was felt that the benefits from their explicit utilization here would be marginal, since their results generally fall within the range of the results obtained by the approaches employed here. See, e.g., Coppin and Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago."
77. These are often referred to in the literature as the Blinder/Oaxaca decompositions. See Alan Blinder, "Race Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources 8 (Fall 1973): 436-55; and Ronald Oaxaca, "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review 9 (October 1973): 693-709. Subsequent advances in the wage/earnings decomposition literature include Jeremiah Cotton, "On the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Review of Economics and Statistics 70 (May 1988): 236-43; David Neumark, "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources 23 (Summer 1988): 279-95; and Ronald Oaxaca and Michael Ransom, "On Discrimination and the Decomposition of Wage Differentials," Journal of Econometrics 61 (March 1994): 5-21. Given (1) the nature of the available data and (2) the nature of the results (see table 3), it was felt that the benefits from their explicit utilization here would be marginal, since their results generally fall within the range of the results obtained by the approaches employed here. See, e.g., Coppin and Olsen, "Earnings and Ethnicity in Trinidad and Tobago."
78. Indeed, equalizing all returns would give working women in Trinidad & Tobago significantly higher average earnings than their male counterparts. Another way of stating the latter point is that working women in Trinidad & Tobago have a greater average endowment of those characteristics valued by the labor market.
79. Put differently, if secondary education had been the base level in the model (instead of primary education), the larger male than female coefficient estimate on the dummy variable for primary education would have yielded a positive entry in table 3.
80. The returns to the undifferentiated factors captured in the intercept terms appear to favor Barbadian men to a greater degree than their counterparts in Trinidad & Tobago, while the converse is true for the hours worked variable. The cause of the large negative contribution of hours worked to the sex earnings differential in the case of Barbados is not clear. The speculation that it might be owing to measurement problems raises the question as to why such a large effect is not observed for Trinidad & Tobago, given a similar approach to measurement: namely, that the source data for this variable were presented in ranges, and midrange values were assigned for the purposes of estimation.