Public‐ and Private‐Sector Wage Differentials in Canada Revisited

Abstract

Using a variety of techniques, we estimate the wage premium for federal, provincial, and municipal public-sector employees in Canada. We find that females in the public sector are paid a wage premium, with federal government workers enjoying the highest rents, followed by local and provincial public-sector employees. Estimates for males suggest that rent payments are comparably less, but results are inconclusive.

Public sector pay and corruption: Measuring bribery from micro data

“…The most common answer is the specificity of the public sector, namely, its different objective function (not profit maximization) and soft budget constraints, inelastic demand for public services, difficult monitoring of public sector services, and a higher rate of unionization and hence stronger bargaining position to secure a higher wage (Mueller 2000).…”

Union Worker Wage Effect in the Public Sector

“…(1) the labor intensive nature of government services, government budget constraints and a low public tolerance for paying for government services (Lewin et al 1988); (2) the introduction of labor saving technologies and outsourcing public services (Lewin 1987); (3) the high proportion of public sector workers in white collar occupations (Lewis 1990); (4) Legal restrictions on the right to strike (Freeman 1986); and (5) monopsony power by public sector employers (Mueller 2000). Others have noted that although union wage premiums have been lower in the public sector than in the private sector, the influence of unions in the public sector may be manifest in other areas such as fringe benefits and job security (Lewis 1990;Mueller 2000).…”

Quebec prosperity

“…He argued that determining the level of government where the premiums are the highest has important implications for public policy. In this case, cutting spending at the federal level would be more useful than cutting spending at the provincial and local level because it is at the federal level that the wage premiums are the highest (Mueller 2000 …”