No abstract

Compares Latin American graduate students in management with work experience in government and business. Explores similarities and differences in work‐related incentives between public and private sector groups. Finds that while administrative reforms in developing countries may assume differences in the importance of job security across the two sectors and neglect the possibility of a national or community service orientation, these assumptions are not supported by this study. Discovers that although the two groups showed no difference in the importance of salary, financial incentives related to performance were significantly more important to private sector respondents as a reason to stay in the sector. Finds differences between the groups on public service motivation, an issue not previously explored in this region. Claims these findings have important implications for Civil Service reform and development of incentive systems for privatization strategies.

All the members of the project's core group read various versions of the paper and made useful amendments and comments. The members of the core group are:

This article, which is the first empirical study of upper‐level female managers in Central America, extends the exploration of similarities and differences between public and private sectors in human resource management to the context of developing countries. A comparison of work hours, recruitment and selection practices, mentoring, political pressure, gender discrimination and sexual harassment, reported by female managers in public and private organizations in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, yielded no sector‐based differences and few country‐based differences. We conclude, therefore, that the public sector is not a more supportive or more fair employer for women in management than the private sector in these two countries, contrary to the assumption in the women‐in‐management literature that the public sector is a more hospitable environment. Improvements in human resources practices are appropriate in both sectors.

No abstract