Are low-skill public sector workers really overpaid? A quasi-differenced panel data analysis

Are low-skill public sector workers really overpaid? A quasi-differenced panel data analysis

Public–private sectoral wage differentials have been studied extensively using quantile regression techniques. These typically find large public sector premiums at the bottom of the wage distribution. This may imply that low skill workers are ‘overpaid’, prompting concerns over efficiency. We note several other potential explanations for this result and explicitly test whether the premium varie...

Panel: Open Source in the Public Sector

Open Source Software (OSS) is becoming mainstream, and it is perhaps not surprising that public sector organisations seek to explore the potential of OSS in financially difficult times. Today, OSS has become an issue of strategic importance for many public sector organisations. In addition, related to OSS, many organisations and governments are also acknowledging Open Standards as important for...

Are Public Sector Workers Different? Cross-European Evidence from Elderly Workers and Retirees

Are Public Sector Workers Different? Cross-European Evidence from Elderly Workers and Retirees The public sector employs a large share of the labor force to execute important functions (e.g. regulation and public good provision) in an environment beset by severe agency problems. Attracting workers who are motivated to serve the public interest is important to mitigate these problems. We investi...

Are some surgical procedures overpaid?

Are Public Sector Workers Underpaid? Appropriate Comparators in a Developing Country

How to align public sector compensation with the market? In industrial countries, a common reference is the salary paid by private employers for similar jobs. But comparable jobs are formal, whereas in developing countries the relevant alternative for many public sector workers is in the informal sector. Another approach uses as a reference the earnings of similar workers in the private sector,...