IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/labeco/v23y2013icp89-96.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Employment sector and pay gaps: Genetic and environmental influences

Author

Listed:
  • Maczulskij, Terhi

Abstract

This paper uses data on Finnish twins to examine two questions regarding public sector labour markets. First, what are the genetic and environmental contributions to being a public sector employee, and second, are there wage gaps between public and private sector employees. The results indicate that 34 to 40% of the observed variance in the tendency to be a public sector employee can be attributed to genetic factors, with no influence of the shared environment. Furthermore, at least one-third of the genetic variance is mediated through educational attainment. The results from the wage gap analysis suggest that OLS estimates are downward biased. In fact, while OLS estimates indicate a negative wage gap for both males (seven per cent) and females (four per cent), the within-twin estimates do not indicate any inequalities with respect to pay offered by the two sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Maczulskij, Terhi, 2013. "Employment sector and pay gaps: Genetic and environmental influences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 89-96.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:23:y:2013:i:c:p:89-96
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2013.04.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537113000511
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2013.04.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Griliches, Zvi & Mason, William M, 1972. "Education, Income, and Ability," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(3), pages 74-103, Part II, .
    2. Miller, Paul & Mulvey, Charles & Martin, Nick, 1996. "Multiple Regression Analysis of the Occupational Status of Twins: A Comparison of Economic and Behavioural Genetics Models," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 58(2), pages 227-239, May.
    3. Carlo Dell'Aringa & Claudio Lucifora & Federica Origo, 2007. "Public Sector Pay And Regional Competitiveness. A First Look At Regional Public–Private Wage Differentials In Italy," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 75(4), pages 445-478, July.
    4. Daniel J. Benjamin & David Cesarini & Christopher F. Chabris & Edward L. Glaeser & David I. Laibson & Vilmundur Guðnason & Tamara B. Harris & Lenore J. Launer & Shaun Purcell & Albert Vernon Smith & M, 2012. "The Promises and Pitfalls of Genoeconomics," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 627-662, July.
      • Grankvist, Alexander & Benjamin, Daniel J. & Harris, Tamara B. & Launer, Lenore J. & Smith, Albert Vernon & Johannesson, Magnus & Atwood, Craig S. & Hebert, Benjamin Michael & Hultman, Christina M. & , 2012. "The Promises and Pitfalls of Genoeconomics," Scholarly Articles 10137000, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    5. Alisher Akhmedjonov & Berna Izgi, 2012. "Does it pay to work in the public sector in Turkey?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(10), pages 909-913, July.
    6. Sean P. Corcoran & William N. Evans & Robert M. Schwab, 2004. "Changing Labor-Market Opportunities for Women and the Quality of Teachers, 1957-2000," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(2), pages 230-235, May.
    7. van Ophem, Hans, 1993. "A Modified Switching Regression Model for Earnings Differentials between the Public and Private Sectors in the Netherlands," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 75(2), pages 215-224, May.
    8. David Blanchflower, 1996. "The Role and Influence of Trade Unions in the OECD," CEP Discussion Papers dp0310, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    9. Monojit Chatterji & Karen Mumford & Peter Smith, 2011. "The public-private sector gender wage differential in Britain: evidence from matched employee-workplace data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(26), pages 3819-3833.
    10. Claudio Lucifora & Dominique Meurs, 2006. "The Public Sector Pay Gap In France, Great Britain And Italy," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 52(1), pages 43-59, March.
    11. Dustmann, Christian & van Soest, Arthur, 1998. "Public and private sector wages of male workers in Germany," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(8), pages 1417-1441, September.
    12. Pérez, Javier J. & Giordano, Raffaela & Depalo, Domenico & Coutinho Pereira, Manuel & Eugène, Bruno & Papapetrou, Evangelia & Reiss, Lukas & Roter, Mojca, 2011. "The public sector pay gap in a selection of Euro area countries," Working Paper Series 1406, European Central Bank.
    13. Costas Kanellopoulos, 1997. "Public-private wage differentials in Greece," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(8), pages 1023-1032.
    14. Nicola Persico & Andrew Postlewaite & Dan Silverman, 2004. "The Effect of Adolescent Experience on Labor Market Outcomes: The Case of Height," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(5), pages 1019-1053, October.
    15. Almlund, Mathilde & Duckworth, Angela Lee & Heckman, James & Kautz, Tim, 2011. "Personality Psychology and Economics," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 0, pages 1-181, Elsevier.
    16. Christofides, Louis N. & Pashardes, Panos, 2002. "Self/paid-employment, public/private sector selection, and wage differentials," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(6), pages 737-762, December.
    17. Laura Pagani, 2003. "Why Do People from Southern Italy Seek Jobs in the Public Sector?," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 17(1), pages 63-91, March.
    18. Stephen Nickell & Glenda Quintini, 2002. "The Consequences of The Decline in Public Sector Pay in Britain: A Little Bit of Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(477), pages 107-118, February.
    19. Nicos Nicolaou & Scott Shane, 2010. "Entrepreneurship And Occupational Choice: Genetic And Environmental Influences," Post-Print hal-00856601, HAL.
    20. Joop Hartog & Ada Ferrer‐i‐Carbonell & Nicole Jonker, 2002. "Linking Measured Risk Aversion to Individual Characteristics," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 3-26.
    21. Lassibille, Gerard, 1998. "Wage Gaps Between the Public and Private Sectors in Spain," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 83-92, February.
    22. Orley Ashenfelter & Cecilia Rouse, 1998. "Income, Schooling, and Ability: Evidence from a New Sample of Identical Twins," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 253-284.
    23. Adamchik, Vera A. & Bedi, Arjun S., 2000. "Wage differentials between the public and the private sectors: evidence from an economy in transition," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 203-224, March.
    24. Charles F. Manski, 2011. "Genes, Eyeglasses, and Social Policy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 83-94, Fall.
    25. Don Bellante & Albert N. Link, 1981. "Are Public Sector Workers More Risk Averse Than Private Sector Workers?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 34(3), pages 408-412, April.
    26. Bargain, Olivier & Melly, Blaise, 2008. "Public Sector Pay Gap in France: New Evidence Using Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 3427, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    27. Stenberg, Anders, 2013. "Interpreting estimates of heritability – A note on the twin decomposition," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 201-205.
    28. Corcoran, Mary & Jencks, Christopher & Olneck, Michael, 1976. "The Effects of Family Background on Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(2), pages 430-435, May.
    29. Jonathan P. Beauchamp & David Cesarini & Magnus Johannesson & Matthijs J. H. M. van der Loos & Philipp D. Koellinger & Patrick J. F. Groenen & James H. Fowler & J. Niels Rosenquist & A. Roy Thurik & N, 2011. "Molecular Genetics and Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 25(4), pages 57-82, Fall.
    30. Christian Pfeifer, 2011. "Risk Aversion and Sorting into Public Sector Employment," German Economic Review, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 12(1), pages 85-99, February.
    31. Heckman, James J., 2011. "Integrating Personality Psychology into Economics," IZA Discussion Papers 5950, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    32. Behrman, Jere R & Taubman, Paul, 1976. "Intergenerational Transmission of Income and Wealth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 66(2), pages 436-440, May.
    33. Miller, Paul & Mulvey, Charles & Martin, Nick, 2001. "Genetic and environmental contributions to educational attainment in Australia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 20(3), pages 211-224, June.
    34. Hamermesh, Daniel S & Biddle, Jeff E, 1994. "Beauty and the Labor Market," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(5), pages 1174-1194, December.
    35. 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.
    36. Cawley, John & Heckman, James & Vytlacil, Edward, 2001. "Three observations on wages and measured cognitive ability," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 419-442, September.
    37. Uusitalo, Roope, 1999. "Return to education in Finland," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 569-580, November.
    38. Nicolaou, Nicos & Shane, Scott, 2010. "Entrepreneurship and occupational choice: Genetic and environmental influences," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 3-14, October.
    39. David Cesarini & Christopher T. Dawes & Magnus Johannesson & Paul Lichtenstein & Björn Wallace, 2009. "Genetic Variation in Preferences for Giving and Risk Taking," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(2), pages 809-842.
    40. Nicos Nicolaou & Scott Shane & Lynn Cherkas & Janice Hunkin & Tim D. Spector, 2008. "Is the Tendency to Engage in Entrepreneurship Genetic?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 54(1), pages 167-179, January.
    41. Gérard Lassibille, 1998. "Wage gaps between the public and private sectors in Spain [L'écart des salaires entre le secteur public et le secteur privé en Espagne]," Post-Print halshs-01267417, HAL.
    42. Gregory, Robert G. & Borland, Jeff, 1999. "Recent developments in public sector labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 53, pages 3573-3630, Elsevier.
    43. Lixin Cai & Amy Y. C. Liu, 2011. "Public–Private Sector Wage Gap in Australia: Variation along the Distribution," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(2), pages 362-390, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Morikawa, Masayuki, 2016. "A comparison of the wage structure between the public and private sectors in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 73-90.
    2. Jørn Rattsø & Hildegunn E.Stokke, 2018. "Dynamic private-public wage gap: Return to experience, education level and cit effect," Working Paper Series 17518, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    3. Böckerman, Petri & Vainiomäki, Jari, 2013. "Stature and life-time labor market outcomes: Accounting for unobserved differences," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 86-96.
    4. Terhi Maczulskij, 2015. "Who chooses to become a public sector employee?," Working Papers 301, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    5. Terhi Maczulskij & Petri Böckerman, 2019. "Harsh times: do stressors lead to labor market losses?," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(3), pages 357-373, April.
    6. Böckerman, Petri & Maczulskij, Terhi, 2016. "The Education-health Nexus: Fact and fiction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 112-116.
    7. Terhi Maczulskij & Jutta Viinikainen, 2015. "Personality characteristics and long-term labor market outcomes: Evidence from twins," Working Papers 299, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    8. Rattsø, Jørn & Stokke, Hildegunn E., 2020. "Private-public wage gap and return to experience: Role of geography, gender and education," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    9. Terhi Maczulskij, 2015. "High education and public sector employment: Evidence from Finland using data on twins," Working Papers 296, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    10. Maczulskij, Terhi & Viinikainen, Jutta, 2018. "Is personality related to permanent earnings? Evidence using a twin design," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 116-129.
    11. Maczulskij, Terhi & Viinikainen, Jutta, 2021. "Personality and Public Sector Employment," ETLA Working Papers 86, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    12. Terhi Maczulskij, 2016. "Higher education and public sector employment: evidence from Finnish data on twins," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(5), pages 605-619, September.
    13. Mansoor Maitah & Daniel Toth & Luboš Smutka & Kamil Maitah & Veronika Jarolínová, 2020. "Income Differentiation as a Factor of Unsustainability in Forestry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.
    14. Petri Böckerman & Ari Hyytinen & Terhi Maczulskij, 2017. "Alcohol Consumption and Long‐Term Labor Market Outcomes," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 275-291, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Terhi Maczulskij, 2015. "High education and public sector employment: Evidence from Finland using data on twins," Working Papers 296, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    2. Zhuravleva, Tatiana (Журавлева, Татьяна), 2015. "Analysis of the Factors of Wages Differentiation in the Public and Private Sectors of the Russian Economy [Анализ Факторов Дифференциации Заработной Платы В Государственном И Частном Секторах Эконо," Published Papers mn10, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    3. Terhi Maczulskij, 2015. "Who chooses to become a public sector employee?," Working Papers 301, Työn ja talouden tutkimus LABORE, The Labour Institute for Economic Research LABORE.
    4. Maczulskij, Terhi, 2013. "Public–private sector wage differentials and the business cycle," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 284-301.
    5. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin, 2008. "Public versus Private Sector Wage Gap in Egypt: Evidence from Quantile Regression on Panel Data," MPRA Paper 89540, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin, 2008. "Public versus Private Sector Wage Gap in Egypt: Evidence from Quantile Regression on Panel Data," MPRA Paper 89540, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin, 2020. "Public-private sector wage gap by gender in Egypt: Evidence from quantile regression on panel data, 1998–2018," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    8. Terhi Maczulskij, 2016. "Higher education and public sector employment: evidence from Finnish data on twins," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(5), pages 605-619, September.
    9. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim & Ozdemir, Zeynel Abidin, 2008. "Public versus Private Sector Wage Gap in Egypt: Evidence from Quantile Regression on Panel Data," MPRA Paper 89540, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Jelena Lausev, 2014. "WHAT HAS 20 YEARS OF PUBLIC–PRIVATE PAY GAP LITERATURE TOLD US? EASTERN EUROPEAN TRANSITIONING vs. DEVELOPED ECONOMIES," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(3), pages 516-550, July.
    11. Louis Christofides & Maria Michael, 2013. "Exploring the public-private sector wage gap in European countries," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-53, December.
    12. 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.
    13. Dickson, Matt & Postel-Vinay, Fabien & Turon, Hélène, 2014. "The lifetime earnings premium in the public sector: The view from Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 141-161.
    14. Chatterji, Monojit & Maczulskij, Terhi & Pehkonen, Jaakko, 2008. "Public Sector Pay in Finland," SIRE Discussion Papers 2008-31, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/1frfnu9k0921o6s94ptnm0q4o is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Antón, José-Ignacio & Muñoz de Bustillo, Rafael, 2013. "Public-private sector wage differentials in Spain. An updated picture in the midst of the Great Recession," MPRA Paper 48897, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Matthijs J H M van der Loos & Cornelius A Rietveld & Niina Eklund & Philipp D Koellinger & Fernando Rivadeneira & Gonçalo R Abecasis & Georgina A Ankra-Badu & Sebastian E Baumeister & Daniel J Benjami, 2013. "The Molecular Genetic Architecture of Self-Employment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(4), pages 1-15, April.
    18. Dickson, Matt & Postel-Vinay, Fabien & Turon, Hélène, 2014. "The lifetime earnings premium in the public sector: The view from Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 141-161.
    19. Domenico Depalo & Raffaela Giordano & Evangelia Papapetrou, 2015. "Public–private wage differentials in euro-area countries: evidence from quantile decomposition analysis," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 985-1015, November.
    20. Domenico Depalo & Raffaella Giordano, 2011. "The public-private pay gap: a robust quantile approach," Giornale degli Economisti, GDE (Giornale degli Economisti e Annali di Economia), Bocconi University, vol. 70(1), pages 25-64, January.
    21. Vladimir Gimpelson & Anna Lukiyanova & Anna Sharunina, 2015. "Estimating the Public-Private Wage Gap in Russia: What Does Quantile Regression Tell Us?," HSE Working papers WP BRP 104/EC/2015, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public sector employment; Behavioural genetics; Twin studies; Wage differentials;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • 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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:23:y:2013:i:c:p:89-96. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/labeco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.