The study investigates the determinants of participation and earnings in wage
employment in Nigeria. To achieve the objective of the study, three models are
estimated for male and female employees across the four wage employment
segments considered in the study. These models are probit model, multinomial
logit model and Mincerian human capital model. The results of the estimated
probit model show that the key determinants of participation of an employable
household member (male or female) in wage employment are levels of education
attained. Other factors are possession of assets like own-homes, living in free
accommodation and residing in urban areas. The estimated multinomial logit
models reveal that the factors that influence the probability of participation of
males and females in the various segments of wage employment vary overtime
perhaps due to the changing government labour policy and the dynamics that
characterise the economic environment. It is interesting to note that the levels of
education attained by labour suppliers stand out as key determinants of
participation across the various segments of wage employment in recent times.
The main determinants of hourly wage are the levels of education attained,
experience and the location of residence of the employees. The returns to
education and experience differ for males and females and they equally vary
across the four segments of wage employment adopted for the study. The study
also finds some traces of gender wage gap across wage employment segments.