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Are public sector workers more risk averse than private sector workers?

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Author Info
Don Bellante
Albert N. Link

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Abstract

Available evidence suggests that stability of employment is greater in the public sector than in the private sector. The value that individuals place on this stability depends on the individual's degree of risk aversion. Economic reasoning suggests that, other things equal, those individuals with a high degree of aversion to risk will be more likely than others to seek employment in the public sector. This paper tests that hypothesis through the use of probit analysis and a measure of risk aversion developed in the University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The results tend to confirm the hypothesis, implying that a policy of intersectoral equality of pay for comparable jobs would result in an excess supply of workers to the public sector. (Abstract courtesy JSTOR.)

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Publisher Info
Article provided by ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University in its journal ILR Review.

Volume (Year): 34 (1981)
Issue (Month): 3 (April)
Pages: 408-412
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Handle: RePEc:ilr:articl:v:34:y:1981:i:3:p:408-412

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  1. Ira N. Gang & John Landon-Lane & Ralitza Dimova, 2006. "Where to Work? The Role of the Household in explaining Gender Differences in Labour Market Outcomes," Departmental Working Papers 200623, Rutgers University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Bargain, Olivier & Melly, Blaise, 2008. "Public Sector Pay Gap in France: New Evidence Using Panel Data," IZA Discussion Papers 3427, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Steven F. Venti, 1985. "Wages in the Federal and Private Sectors," NBER Working Papers 1641, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Rebecca Blank, 1983. "An Analysis of Worker Sectoral Choice: Public vs. Private Employment," Working Papers 551, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
  5. John Gibson, 2007. "The Public Sector Pay Premium and Compensating Differentials in the New Zealand Labour Market," Working Papers in Economics 07/20, University of Waikato, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  6. Luis Diaz-Serrano & J. Hartog, 2004. "Is there a Risk-Return Trade-off across Occupations? Evidence from Spain," Economics, Finance and Accounting Department Working Paper Series n1441004, Department of Economics, Finance and Accounting, National University of Ireland - Maynooth. [Downloadable!]
  7. Diaz-Serrano, Luis & Hartog, Joop, 2004. "Is There a Risk-Return Trade-Off across Occupations? Evidence from Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 1355, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  8. Pfeifer, Christian, 2008. "Risk Aversion and Sorting into Public Sector Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 3503, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  9. Simon Luechinger & Alois Stutzer & Rainer Winkelmann, 2006. "The Happiness Gains from Sorting and Matching in the Labor Market," IZA Discussion Papers 2019, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  11. Juan Prieto Rodríguez & María José Suárez Fernández, 2006. "Like father like son? Intergenerational links within occupations and public employment," Hacienda Pública Española, IEF, vol. 178(3), pages 81-111, September. [Downloadable!]
  12. Heitmueller, Axel, 2004. "Public-Private Sector Wage Differentials in Scotland: An Endogenous Switching Model," IZA Discussion Papers 992, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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