UNIVERSITA’ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE - Milano - QUADERNI DELL’ISTITUTO DI ECONOMIA DELL’IMPRESA E DEL LAVORO The Public-Private Job Satisfaction Differential in Italy

This paper uses Italian survey data for 1995 to study differences between public and private sectors in the level of self-reported workers’ satisfaction for nonpecuniary job attributes. Econometric results show that public employees are on average more satisfied, but the size of the differential is rather small in absolute value. A decomposition exercise suggests that two thirds of the premium is due to better working conditions in the public sector, while only one third is attributable to differences in workers’ tastes for job attributes between the two sectors.