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Public-Private Sector Wage Differentials in Spain. An Updated Picture in the Midst of the Great Recession

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  • José-Ignacio Antón
  • Rafael MUÑOZ DE BUSTILLO

Abstract

Using the recent Wage Structure Survey 2010, this article examines the public-private sector wage gaps in Spain along the whole earnings distribution and the incidence of the gender gap in both sectors of the economy. Firstly, we find that that there is positive wage premium to public sector employment that is not fully explained by employees’ observable characteristics. Furthermore, this premium concentrates on lowskilled workers, while high-skilled individuals in the public sector suffer a pay penalty. Secondly, the gender gap is substantially larger in the private sector. Lastly, we analyse what happens in some specific activities, Education and Human health and social work, where both public and private sector coexist to a large extent. We discuss several explanations for these findings, which are coherent with the available international evidence, and the possible implications of the current process of downsizing of public sector employment associated with austerity measures.

Suggested Citation

  • José-Ignacio Antón & Rafael MUÑOZ DE BUSTILLO, 2015. "Public-Private Sector Wage Differentials in Spain. An Updated Picture in the Midst of the Great Recession," Economics working papers 2015-10, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.
    • Handle: RePEc:jku:econwp:2015_10
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    2. Ana Luíza Matos Oliveira & Magali N. Alloatti, 2022. "Gendering the crisis: austerity and the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 203-224, April.
    3. Michael, Maria & Christofides, Louis N., 2020. "The impact of austerity measures on the public - private sector wage gap in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Nuria Sánchez-Sánchez & Adolfo C. Fernández Puente, 2021. "Public Versus Private Job Satisfaction. Is there a Trade-off between Wages and Stability?," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 47-67, March.
    5. Giannina Vaccaro & Maria Pia Basurto & Arlette Beltrán & Mariano Montoya, 2022. "The Gender Wage Gap in Peru: Drivers, Evolution, and Heterogeneities," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(1), pages 19-34.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wage gap; public sector; gender gap; quantile regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

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