Changes in Paraguay's Gender Earning Gap: An analysis from 2002 to 2019

In Paraguay, the earning gap between men and women is widest in the informal sector, especially among groups with less education and from rural areas. But there is a heterogeneous income gap that favors men in most economic activities in the country. Much of this gap cannot be accounted for by experience, personal and family characteristics, industry and economic activity, region of the country, or setting (urban or rural), so this unexplained portion of the gap is probably related to regulatory factors, biases, or discrimination (Becker, 2005). This study analyzes changes in Paraguay's gender earning gap between 2002 and 2019. It draws its data from the household surveys conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Paraguay and harmonized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). We present two models for estimating the earning gap: the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition and the Nopo decomposition. The analysis shows no clear trend of a widening or narrowing gender earning gap during the period analyzed.