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Public employment and compensation reform: the role of social dialogue and structural measures

Author

Listed:
  • Lorenzo Forni

    (University of Padua
    International Monetary Fund)

  • Natalija Novta

    (International Monetary Fund)

Abstract

This paper compiles and compares recent and past measures introduced to contain the public wage bill in a number of emerging and advanced economies to assess their effectiveness in bringing down expenditure in a sustained way. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, a number of countries have approved measures on the wage bill as part of fiscal consolidation efforts. These recent episodes are compared to past cases implemented in advanced economies over the period 1979–2009. Findings suggest that public wage bill consolidation episodes pre- and post-2009 are similar in many respects. Moreover, typically countries that were able to achieve more sustained reductions in the wage bill have implemented to larger extent structural measures, and/or these measures were accompanied with substantial social dialogue and consensus.

Suggested Citation

  • Lorenzo Forni & Natalija Novta, 2016. "Public employment and compensation reform: the role of social dialogue and structural measures," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 23(5), pages 960-979, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:itaxpf:v:23:y:2016:i:5:d:10.1007_s10797-015-9374-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10797-015-9374-z
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Maria M. Campos & Domenico Depalo & Evangelia Papapetrou & Javier J. Pérez & Roberto Ramos, 2017. "Understanding the public sector pay gap," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-29, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public sector; Wage bill; Fiscal consolidation; Public reform;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • H6 - Public Economics - - National Budget, Deficit, and Debt

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