We evaluate the impact of a recent reform that sharply increased the salaries of Italian local politicians on electoral competition and the valence attributes of the candidates elected. Exploiting misaligned election dates across Italian cities, we propose a novel methodology, the time-shifted...

The substantial increase in public sector wages in Mongolia introduced in the 2023 supplementary budget has raised concerns about its potential spillover effects on private sector wages and subsequent inflationary pressures. Furthermore, both public and private sector wages have grown on average...

At the request of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) of Cyprus, a capacity development mission from the International Monetary Fund's Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) visited Nicosia during the period June 18 - July 1, 2024. The purpose of the mission was to review the...

Hospitals, schools, councils and other parts of the public sector are a major employer in Scotland. The public sector paybill is also a substantial part of government spending. Recent years have seen larger-than-expected increases in both public sector employment and pay, the latter driven by...

This study examined the correlation between the civil service compensation system and employee motivation in the public sector. Using both questionnaires and interviews to gather data, the study found out that the compensation system was not sufficient to meet employees' basic needs. The study...

Upon the authorities' request, the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department provided technical assistance to Palau on reforming government employment and compensation policies. Palau is facing significant challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff for essential public services due to...

Public sector jobs are established by governments to directly provide goods and services. Governments may also choose to regulate the size of the public sector in order to stabilize targeted national employment levels. However, economic research suggests that these effects are uncertain and...

We evaluate a political reform in Portugal that introduced individual teacher performancerelated pay and tournaments in public schools. We find that the focus on individual performance decreased student achievement, as measured in national exams, and increased grade inflation. The results follow...

Da die Beamtenpopulation deutlich älter als die Gesamtbevölkerung ist, gehen die kohortenstarken Jahrgänge bereits in den Ruhestand. Allein in den letzten 10 Jahren haben sich die jährlichen Versorgungsausgaben der Gebietskörperschaften um 50 Prozent erhöht, wovon insbesondere die...

We investigate an agent-based model for the emergence of corruption in public contracts. Thereare two types of agents: business people and public servants. Both business people and publicservants can adopt two strategies: corrupt or honest behavior. Interactions between businesspeople and public...

Da die Beamtenpopulation deutlich älter als die Gesamtbevölkerung ist, gehen die kohortenstarken Jahrgänge bereits in den Ruhestand. Allein in den letzten 10 Jahren haben sich die jährlichen Versorgungsausgaben der Gebietskörperschaften um 50 Prozent erhöht, wovon insbesondere die...

We set up a search and matching model with a private and a public sector to understand the effects of employment and wage policies in the public sector on unemployment and education decisions. The effects on the educational composition of the labor force depend crucially on the structure of the...

Kuwaiti women working in Kuwait's civil service earn, on average, 18 percent less than Kuwaiti men. Using a unique data set of all Kuwaiti nationals working in Kuwait's civil service, this paper analyzes the relationship between wages, gender, and the relative dominance of women in occupations...

Mali's wage bill has soared to levels not seen since the early 1990s. This may cause considerable opportunity costs-limiting fiscal space and potentially adding to inflationary pressures-as well as adversely affect medium-term debt sustainability as it weighs heavily on the primary deficit. This...

This paper studies the wage differentials between the public and private sectors in Spain, as well as its distribution across different educational levels and by gender. To do so, the well-known Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of mincerian wage regressions is applied for both sectors, breaking down...

Proponents of comparable worth assert that within a firm jobs can be valued in terms of the skill, effort and responsibility they require, as well as the working conditions they offer, and that jobs that are of comparable worth to the firm should receive equal compensation. After documenting the...

This paper performs a longitudinal comparison of public and private sector pay. Although not decisive because of small sample sizes, the results tend to corroborate the conclusions of previous cross-sectional studies. Specifically, I find that on average wages of federal workers exceed those of...

This paper studies the wage differentials between the public and private sectors in Spain, as well as its distribution across different educational levels and by gender. To do so, the well-known Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition of mincerian wage regressions is applied for both sectors, breaking down...

We provide the first empirical analysis of gubernatorial pay. Using US data for 1950-90 we document, contrary to widespread assumptions, substantial variation in the wages of politicians, both across states and over time. Gubernatorial wages respond to changes in state income per capita and...