IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bdp/wpaper/2014010.html

Public Sector Employment and Local Multipliers

Author

Listed:
  • Charlotte Senftleben-König

    (Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin)

Abstract

This paper assesses the spillover effects of public sector employment on private sector employment at the level of local labor markets in Germany between 2003 and 2007. I find that public sector employment has sizable crowding out effects on the private sector. The results suggest that 10 additional jobs in the public sector destroy 8 jobs in the private sector. I further show that public sector employment has an impact on the structure of the private sector. By raising wages in the private sector, public sector employment crowds out employment in the tradable sector. In contrast, employment in nontradable industries is largely unaffected. Creation Date: 2014-12-10

Suggested Citation

  • Charlotte Senftleben-König, "undated". "Public Sector Employment and Local Multipliers," BDPEMS Working Papers 2014010, Berlin School of Economics.
  • Handle: RePEc:bdp:wpaper:2014010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.berlinschoolofeconomics.de/bdp/wpaper/pdf/WP_2014-10.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tito Boeri & Giuseppe Nicoletti & Stefano Scarpetta, "undated". "Regulation and Labour Market Performance," Working Papers 158, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    2. Christian Dustmann & Bernd Fitzenberger & Uta Sch?nberg & Alexandra Spitz-Oener, 2014. "From Sick Man of Europe to Economic Superstar: Germany's Resurgent Economy," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(1), pages 167-188, Winter.
    3. Enrico Moretti, 2010. "Local Multipliers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(2), pages 373-377, May.
    4. repec:iab:iabfda:201001(en is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Faggio, Giulia & Overman, Henry, 2014. "The effect of public sector employment on local labour markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 91-107.
    6. Dorner, Matthias & Heining, Jörg & Jacobebbinghaus, Peter & Seth, Stefan, 2010. "Sample of Integrated Labour Market Biographies (SIAB) 1975-2008," FDZ Methodenreport 201009_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    7. Albert Alesina & Stephan Danninger & Massimo Rostagno, 2001. "Redistribution Through Public Employment: The Case of Italy," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 48(3), pages 1-2.
    8. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & André Zylberberg, 2002. "Public employment and labour market performance [‘On the benefits from rigid labour markets: Norms, market failures and social insurances’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 17(34), pages 7-66.
    9. David H. Autor & David Dorn & Gordon H. Hanson, 2013. "The China Syndrome: Local Labor Market Effects of Import Competition in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(6), pages 2121-2168, October.
    10. 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.
    11. repec:iab:iabfme:200502(en is not listed on IDEAS
    12. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/8846 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Humphreys, Brad R. & Marchand, Joseph, 2013. "New casinos and local labor markets: Evidence from Canada," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 151-160.
    14. Edward L. Glaeser & Matthew G. Resseger, 2010. "The Complementarity Between Cities And Skills," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 221-244, February.
    15. O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), 2011. "Handbook of Labor Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 4.
    16. Eckey, Hans-Friedrich & Kosfeld, Reinhold & Türck, Matthias, 2006. "Abgrenzung deutscher Arbeitsmarktregionen," Volkswirtschaftliche Diskussionsbeiträge 81, University of Kassel, Faculty of Economics and Management.
    17. O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), 2011. "Handbook of Labor Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 4, number 5.
    18. Francisco de Castro & Matteo Salto & Hugo Steiner, 2013. "The gap between public and private wages: new evidence for the EU," European Economy - Economic Papers 2008 - 2015 508, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    19. Moulton, Brent R., 1986. "Random group effects and the precision of regression estimates," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 385-397, August.
    20. repec:iab:iabfme:201009(en is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Dorner, Matthias & Heining, Jörg & Jacobebbinghaus, Peter & Seth, Stefan, 2010. "Sample of Integrated Labour Market Biographies (SIAB) 1975-2008," FDZ Datenreport. Documentation on Labour Market Data 201001_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    22. Moretti, Enrico, 2011. "Local Labor Markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 14, pages 1237-1313, Elsevier.
    23. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/8846 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Blaise Melly, 2005. "Public-private sector wage differentials in Germany: Evidence from quantile regression," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 505-520, September.
    25. Christian Dustmann & Arthur Van Soest, 1997. "Wage structures in the private and public sectors in West Germany," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 225-247, August.
    26. Enrico Moretti & Per Thulin, 2013. "Local multipliers and human capital in the United States and Sweden," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 22(1), pages 339-362, February.
    27. Gartner, Hermann, 2005. "The imputation of wages above the contribution limit with the German IAB employment sample," FDZ Methodenreport 200502_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    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. Freitas, Dimitria, 2025. "The Effect of Public Sector Relocations on Regional Development in Germany," VfS Annual Conference 2025 (Cologne): Revival of Industrial Policy 325457, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

    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. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2014-038 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Becker, Sascha O. & Heblich, Stephan & Sturm, Daniel M., 2021. "The impact of public employment: Evidence from Bonn," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    3. Charlotte Senftleben-König & Hanna Wielandt, "undated". "Spatial Wage Inequality and Technological Change," BDPEMS Working Papers 2014008, Berlin School of Economics.
    4. Senftleben-Koenig, Charlotte & Wielandt, Hanna, 2014. "Spatial wage inequality and technological change," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2014-038, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.
    5. 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.
    6. Neil Lee & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2021. "Entrepreneurship and the fight against poverty in US cities," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(1), pages 31-52, February.
    7. repec:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2012-024 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Lee, Neil & Clarke, Stephen, 2019. "Do low-skilled workers gain from high-tech employment growth? High-technology multipliers, employment and wages in Britain," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    9. Jasper van Dijk, 2015. "Local Multipliers In United States Cities: A Replication of Moretti (2010)," Economics Series Working Papers 771, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Gagliardi, Luisa, 2019. "The impact of foreign technological innovation on domestic employment via the industry mix," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6), pages 1523-1533.
    11. Jordi Jofre-Monseny & Maria Sánchez-Vidal & Elisabet Viladecans-Marsal, 2018. "Big plant closures and local employment," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 163-186.
    12. Faggio, Giulia & Schlüter, Teresa & Berge, Philipp vom, 2025. "Interaction of public and private employment: Evidence from a German government move," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    13. Altan Aldan, 2021. "The multiplier effect of public employment on formal employment in the private sector: Evidence from Turkey," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 1016-1031, May.
    14. Jofre-Monseny, Jordi & Silva, José I. & Vázquez-Grenno, Javier, 2020. "Local labor market effects of public employment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    15. Lerche, Adrian, 2019. "Investment Tax Credits and the Response of Firms," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203526, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    16. Roberta Moraes Rocha & Breno Caldas Araújo, 2021. "Local multiplier effect of the tradable sector on the Brazilian labor market," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 14(3), pages 269-286, December.
    17. Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques†François Thisse & Xiwei Zhu, 2018. "Does Technological Progress Magnify Regional Disparities?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 59(2), pages 647-663, May.
    18. 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.
    19. Michael Graff & Massimo Mannino & Michael Siegenthaler, 2014. "The Swiss "Job Miracle"," KOF Working papers 14-368, KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich.
    20. Gregory, Terry & Salomons, Anna & Zierahn, Ulrich, 2016. "Racing With or Against the Machine? Evidence from Europe," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145843, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    21. Brooks, Leah & Gendron-Carrier, Nicolas & Rua, Gisela, 2021. "The local impact of containerization," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    22. Combes, Pierre-Philippe & Duranton, Gilles & Gobillon, Laurent & Roux, Sébastien, 2012. "Sorting and local wage and skill distributions in France," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(6), pages 913-930.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:bdp:wpaper:2014010. 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: Christian Reiter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bdpemde.html .

    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.