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Assessing the wage gap between public and private sector employees in Ireland: issues, evidence and challenges

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  • Flannery Darragh

    (University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland)

  • Turner Tom

    (University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland)

Abstract

Over recent years pay levels in the public sector of the economy have come under increasing scrutiny. This paper provides an assessment of the key issues and challenges central to a comparison of wage levels in the private and public sector in Ireland. A review of the extant studies that have employed multivariate analysis to estimate the gap between public and private sector wages in Ireland indicates a wage premium in favour of public sector workers. However the actual magnitude of the earnings gap is difficult to accurately assess as the size of the premium varies markedly across these various studies. A number of possible options are suggested to guide the development of a fair system for assessing wage levels in the public sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Flannery Darragh & Turner Tom, 2018. "Assessing the wage gap between public and private sector employees in Ireland: issues, evidence and challenges," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 37(1), pages 51-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:irjman:v:37:y:2018:i:1:p:51-64:n:1005
    DOI: 10.2478/ijm-2018-0005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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