Gender differences in performance-based pay: Evidence from a Chinese University

•We examined gender differences in performance-based pay in a Chinese institute.•There is no statistically significant gender difference in the total performance-based pay.•Male and female have different comparative advantages.•We use ATT method.•This work provides insight into gender pay differences in general.

We examined gender differences in performance-based pay in an institute of a top Chinese university, to provide insight into the gender earnings gap. We found that male professors earned more from research and less from teaching than did comparable female professors even though male and female professors showed no statistically significant difference in the total performance-based pay. Given the piece rate nature of bonuses in the institute and one's tendency to invest more time in areas where one has comparative advantages to maximize the total income, the study results lead to the conclusion that male professors displayed comparative advantage in research while female professors exhibited comparative advantage in teaching. The conclusion is corroborated by analyses of time allocation, and number of papers published as first author and as co-author.