This paper investigates the importance of heterogeneity in the labor earning shock processes. We analyze the earning shock process for both male and female workers in several countries. We argue that unlike time series analysis, in a life cycle model the forecasting horizon is finite and in...

The gender wage gap varies across countries. For example, among OECD nations women in Australia, Belgium, Italy and Sweden earn 80% as much as males, whereas in Austria, Canada and Japan women earn about 60%. Current studies examining cross-country differences focus on the impact of labor market...