Earnings distribution among Spanish engineers: research vs. non-research occupations

Abstract

Based on individual survey data, we estimate separate earnings equations for engineers who hold a research occupation and engineers who work in other fields using a switching regression model. From these results, we compare the wage-generating process for each subgroup and evaluate the overall wage gaps across the working life of each category of engineers. On average, researchers receive lower wages compared to their peers. However, the estimation of the earnings models indicate that, holding everything else constant, engineers holding research positions have higher salaries at the beginning of their working life. Due to the recent growth of R&D activities in Spain, we explain these earnings gap by a transitory cohort effect. However, in this new context, we do not exclude that this differential might reflect also a deep change in the working conditions that private sector firms offer to scientists.