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Schooling and the distribution of wages in the European private and public sectors

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  • Santiago Budria

Abstract

International research has shown that schooling enhances within-groups wage dispersion. This assessment is typically based on private sector data and, up to date, the inequality implications of schooling have not been documented for the public sector. This article uses recent data from eight European countries to explicitly take into account differences between the private and public sectors. Using quantile regression, the article describes the effects of schooling on the location and shape of the conditional wage distribution in each sector. While the average impact of schooling on wages is similar across sectors, the impact of schooling on within-groups dispersion is found to be substantially larger in the private sector than in the public sector. This finding warns that the effects of the European educational expansion on overall within-groups dispersion may be lower than previously thought.

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  • Santiago Budria, 2010. "Schooling and the distribution of wages in the European private and public sectors," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(8), pages 1045-1054.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:42:y:2010:i:8:p:1045-1054
    DOI: 10.1080/00036840701721109
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    Cited by:

    1. Raúl Ramos & Esteban Sanromá & Hipólito Simón, 2014. "Public-Private Sector Wage Differentials by Type of Contract: Evidence from Spain," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 208(1), pages 107-141, March.
    2. Fasih, Tazeen & Kingdon, Geeta & Patrinos, Harry Anthony & Sakellariou, Chris & Soderbom, Mans, 2012. "Heterogeneous returns to education in the labor market," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6170, The World Bank.
    3. Harry Patrinos & Cristobal Ridao-Cano & Chris Sakellariou, 2009. "A note on schooling and wage inequality in the public and private sector," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 383-392, October.
    4. Terhi Maczulskij & Jaakko Pehkonen, 2011. "Public-Private Sector Pay Gaps in Finland: A Quantile Regression Analysis," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 24(2), pages 111-127, Autumn.
    5. Kiran Fahd & Sitalakshmi Venkatraman, 2019. "Racial Inclusion in Education: An Australian Context," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-12, April.
    6. Monojit Chatterji & Terhi Maczulskij & Jaakko Pehkonen, 2008. "Public Sector Pay in Finland," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 213, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
    7. Lovász, Anna & Altwicker-Hámori, Szilvia, 2013. "A köz- és a magánszféra kereseti különbségei Magyarországon, 2002-2008. Javíthat-e hosszú távon a közalkalmazottak relatív helyzetén egy 50 százalékos béremelés? [An assessment of Hungary s public/," Közgazdasági Szemle (Economic Review - monthly of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences), Közgazdasági Szemle Alapítvány (Economic Review Foundation), vol. 0(5), pages 500-522.
    8. Szilvia Hamori & Anna Lovasz, 2011. "Can a fifty percent increase in public sector wages improve the position of public sector employees in the long run? An assessment of the public-private income gap in Hungary," Budapest Working Papers on the Labour Market 1106, Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
    9. Cristina Pita & Ramón J. Torregrosa, 2023. "The Education-Job Satisfaction Paradox in the Public Sector," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1717-1735, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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