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The Wage Penalty for State and Local Government Employees in New England

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  • Jeffrey Thompson
  • John Schmitt

Abstract

The authors demonstrate that the average state or local government worker earns higher wages than the average private-sector worker—but only because they are, on average, older and substantially better educated. More than half of state and local government employees in New England have a four-year college degree or more, and 30% have an advanced degree. By contrast, only 38% of private-sector workers have a four-year college degree or more; and only 13% have an advanced degree. The wage gap becomes more significant at higher-paid professional levels. The lowest paid government workers do earn slightly more than their private counterparts, but for high-wage workers, the wage penalty for working for a New England state or local governments rises to almost 13%. And while state and local workers on average do indeed receive more valuable benefits than private-sector workers, the difference only reduces the wage penalty for the average state and local government worker.

Suggested Citation

  • Jeffrey Thompson & John Schmitt, 2010. "The Wage Penalty for State and Local Government Employees in New England," Working Papers wp233, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    • Handle: RePEc:uma:periwp:wp233
    as

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    File URL: https://per.umass.edu/fileadmin/pdf/working_papers/working_papers_201-250/WP233.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dean Baker & Rivka Deutsch, 2009. "The State and Local Drag on the Stimulus," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2009-17, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    2. Richard B. Freeman & Casey Ichniowski, 1988. "When Public Sector Workers Unionize," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free88-1, June.
    3. John Schmitt, 2008. "The Union Wage Advantage for Low-Wage Workers," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2008-17, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
    4. Alan B. Krueger, 1988. "Are Public Sector Workers Paid More Than Their Alternative Wage? Evidence from Longitudinal Data and Job Queues," NBER Chapters, in: When Public Sector Workers Unionize, pages 217-242, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Public employees are better paid for a reason
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2010-10-28 20:42:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Jeffrey Keefe, 2012. "Public Employee Compensation and the Efficacy of Privatization Alternatives in US State and Local Governments," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(4), pages 782-809, December.
    2. repec:pri:cepsud:227rosen is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Jan K. Brueckner & David Neumark, 2014. "Beaches, Sunshine, and Public Sector Pay: Theory and Evidence on Amenities and Rent Extraction by Government Workers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 198-230, May.
    4. Philipp Bewerunge & Harvey S. Rosen, 2013. "Wages, Pensions, and Public-Private Sector Compensation Differentials for Older Workers," NBER Working Papers 19454, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Maury Gittleman & Brooks Pierce, 2012. "Compensation for State and Local Government Workers," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 217-242, Winter.
    6. Philipp Bewerunge & Harvey S. Rosen, 2012. "Wages, Pensions, and Public-Private Sector Compensation Differentials," Working Papers 1388, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    7. Jan K. Brueckner & David Neumark, 2014. "Beaches, Sunshine, and Public Sector Pay: Theory and Evidence on Amenities and Rent Extraction by Government Workers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(2), pages 198-230, May.
    8. Robert Pollin, 2013. "Austerity Economics and the Struggle for the Soul of U.S. Capitalism," Working Papers wp321, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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