Public-private sector pay differentials in a devolved Scotland

The public-private sector wage gap in Scotland in 2000 is analysed using the extension sample of the British Household Panel Study (BHPS). Employing a switching regression model, and testing for double sample selection from the participation decision and sector choice, the wage gap is shown to be 10 % for males and 24 % for females. For males this is mainly due to differences in productive characteristics and selectivity, while for females the picture is more ambiguous. Findings also suggest that there exists a male private sector wage premium. While there is no evidence of a sample selection bias for females, the sector choice of males is systematically correlated with unobservables. Furthermore, the structural switching regression indicates that expected wage differentials between sectors are an important driving force for sectoral assignment.