Gender-Specific Spatial Interactions on Dutch Regional Labour Markets and the Gender Employment Gap

This paper analyses gender-specific employment rates and the gender employment gap in Dutch municipalities for 2002. The novelty of this analysis is that it takes into account the extent to which gender-specific education, income, and unemployment influence the male and female employment rates and gender gap. Men and women often do not compete for the same jobs, but rather it is found that high male unemployment has an indirect, positive significant effect on female employment rates. The gender employment gap narrows with female education and in urban areas and it widens with the care-prone age composition of the municipal population.