IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/62743.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Public-private wage duality during the Greek crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Christopoulou, Rebekka
  • Monastiriotis, Vassilis

Abstract

During the recent crisis, Greece experienced a severe contraction and rapid transformation in its labour relations and pay-setting system in both the private and public sectors. Although the quantity (employment) adjustments that followed have been well documented, the changes that were triggered in the wage structures of the two sectors remain largely unexplored. In this article we examine these changes using Greek Labour Force Survey micro-data. We find a differential adjustment across sectors in terms of magnitude, timing, and structure. Despite general perceptions, adjustment in public sector wages has been slow and limited, with pre-crisis premia persisting throughout the period. Instead, the private sector recorded substantial adjustment, changing noticeably its valuation of worker and job characteristics and emerging from the crisis with a structure of returns that rewards more intensively marketable skills. This may be an important feature in the prospective recovery of the Greek economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopoulou, Rebekka & Monastiriotis, Vassilis, 2016. "Public-private wage duality during the Greek crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 62743, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:62743
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/62743/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Huber, Martin & Melly, Blaise, 2011. "Quantile Regression in the Presence of Sample Selection," Economics Working Paper Series 1109, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    2. Zafiris Tzannatos & Yannis Monogios, 2013. "Public sector adjustment amidst structural adjustment in Greece: Subordinate, spasmodic and sporadic," Chapters, in: Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead (ed.), Public Sector Shock, chapter 7, pages 259-299, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Vassilis Monastiriotis, 2014. "(When) Does Austerity Work? On the Conditional Link between Fiscal Austerity and Debt Sustainability," Cyprus Economic Policy Review, University of Cyprus, Economics Research Centre, vol. 8(1), pages 71-92, June.
    4. Kevin Featherstone, 2011. "The JCMS Annual Lecture: The Greek Sovereign Debt Crisis and EMU: A Failing State in a Skewed Regime," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(2), pages 193-217, March.
    5. Joseph G. Altonji & Nicolas Williams, 2005. "Do Wages Rise with Job Seniority? A Reassessment," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(3), pages 370-397, April.
    6. Michael Mitsopoulos & Theodore Pelagidis, 2011. "Understanding the Crisis in Greece," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-29475-2, December.
    7. Hospido, Laura & Moral-Benito, Enrique, 2016. "The public sector wage premium in Spain: Evidence from longitudinal administrative data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 101-122.
    8. Evangelia Papapetrou, 2006. "The unequal distribution of the public-private sector wage gap in Greece: evidence from quantile regression," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 205-210.
    9. Shelly Lundberg, 2013. "The College Type: Personality and Educational Inequality," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(3), pages 421-441.
    10. Sergio Firpo & Nicole M. Fortin & Thomas Lemieux, 2009. "Unconditional Quantile Regressions," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 77(3), pages 953-973, May.
    11. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Angelo Martelli, 2013. "Beyond Rising Unemployment: Unemployment Risk, Crisis and Regional Adjustments in Greece," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 80, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.
    12. 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.
    13. Michael Lokshin & Zurab Sajaia, 2004. "Maximum likelihood estimation of endogenous switching regression models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(3), pages 282-289, September.
    14. Rebekka Christopoulou & Vassilis Monastiriotis, 2014. "The Greek Public Sector Wage Premium before the Crisis: Size, Selection and Relative Valuation of Characteristics," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 579-602, September.
    15. Jelena Nikolic & Ivica Rubil & Iva Tomic, 2014. "Changes in Public and Private Sector Pay Structures in Two Emerging Market Economies during the Crisis," Working Papers 1403, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.
    16. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Niamh Hardiman & Aidan Regan & Chiara Goretti & Lucio Landi & J. Ignacio Conde-Ruiz & Carmen Marín & Ricardo Cabral, 2013. "Austerity measures in crisis countries — results and impact on mid-term development," Intereconomics: Review of European Economic Policy, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics;Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), vol. 48(1), pages 4-32, January.
    17. Joan Daouli & Michael Demoussis & Nicholas Giannakopoulos & Ioannis Laliotis, 2013. "Firm-Level Collective Bargaining and Wages in G reece: A Quantile Decomposition Analysis," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(1), pages 80-103, March.
    18. Michael Mitsopoulos & Theodore Pelagidis, 2011. "Understanding the Greek Crisis," World Economics, World Economics, 1 Ivory Square, Plantation Wharf, London, United Kingdom, SW11 3UE, vol. 12(1), pages 177-192, January.
    19. van der Gaag, Jacques & Vijverberg, Wim, 1988. "A Switching Regression Model for Wage Determinants in the Public and Private Sectors of a Developing Country," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 70(2), pages 244-252, May.
    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. Georgios Gatopoulos & Alexandros Louka & Ioannis Polycarpou & Nikolaos Vettas, 2021. "Evaluating the Impact of Labour Market Reforms in Greece during 2010-2018," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 156, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.
    2. Daniela Piazzalunga & Maria Laura Di Tommaso, 2019. "The increase of the gender wage gap in Italy during the 2008-2012 economic crisis," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(2), pages 171-193, June.
    3. Kumara, Ajantha Sisira, 2015. "Wage Differentials in Sri Lanka: The case of a post-conflict country with a free education policy," MPRA Paper 68068, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 25 Nov 2015.
    4. Angelopoulos, Angelos & Economides, George & Liontos, George & Philippopoulos, Apostolis & Sakkas, Stelios, 2022. "Public redistributive policies in general equilibrium: An application to Greece," The Journal of Economic Asymmetries, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    5. Longden, Thomas & Wong, Chun Yee & Haywood, Philip & Hall, Jane & van Gool, Kees, 2018. "The prevalence of persistence and related health status: An analysis of persistently high healthcare costs in the short term and medium term," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 147-156.
    6. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Angelo Martelli, 2021. "Crisis, Adjustment and Resilience in the Greek Labor Market: An Unemployment Decomposition Approach," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(1), pages 85-112, January.
    7. Christopoulou, Rebekka & Pantalidou, Maria, 2017. "The parental home as labor market insurance for young Greeks during the crisis," GLO Discussion Paper Series 158, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Chrysafis Iordanoglou & Manos Matsaganis, 2017. "Why Grexit cannot save Greece (but staying in the Euro area might)," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 123, European Institute, LSE.
    9. Rebekka Christopoulou & Vassilis Monastiriotis, 2018. "Did the crisis make the Greek economy less inefficient? Evidence from the structure and dynamics of sectoral premia," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 125, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.
    10. Chletsos Michael & Roupakias Stelios, 2019. "Do Immigrants Compete with Natives in the Greek Labour Market? Evidence from the Skill-Cell Approach before and during the Great Recession," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 1-30, April.
    11. Kollintzas, Tryphon & Papageorgiou, Dimitris & Vassilatos, Vanghelis, 2018. "Market and political power interactions in Greece: A theory," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 59-83.
    12. Tryphon Kollintzas & Dimitris Papageorgiou & Efthymios Tsionas & Vanghelis Vassilatos, 2018. "Market and political power interactions in Greece: an empirical investigation," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-43, December.
    13. Nikolic, Jelena & Rubil, Ivica & Tomić, Iva, 2017. "Pre-crisis reforms, austerity measures and the public-private wage gap in two emerging economies," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 248-265.
    14. Kamila Sławińska, 2021. "Public–private sector wage gap in a group of European countries: an empirical perspective," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1747-1775, April.

    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. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Angelo Martelli, 2021. "Crisis, Adjustment and Resilience in the Greek Labor Market: An Unemployment Decomposition Approach," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(1), pages 85-112, January.
    2. 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.
    3. 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).
    4. 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.
    5. Rebekka Christopoulou & Vassilis Monastiriotis, 2014. "The Greek Public Sector Wage Premium before the Crisis: Size, Selection and Relative Valuation of Characteristics," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 52(3), pages 579-602, September.
    6. Nikolic, Jelena & Rubil, Ivica & Tomić, Iva, 2017. "Pre-crisis reforms, austerity measures and the public-private wage gap in two emerging economies," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 248-265.
    7. Monastiriotis, Vassilis & Martelli, Angelo, 2021. "Crisis, adjustment and resilience in the Greek labor market: an unemployment decomposition approach," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107048, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Giorgos Argitis & Stella Michopoulou, 2013. "Studies in Financial Systems No 4 Financialization and the Greek Financial System," FESSUD studies fstudy04, Financialisation, Economy, Society & Sustainable Development (FESSUD) Project.
    9. Liagouras, George, 2018. "On the Edge of the South European Model: Familism, Business and State in Greece," OSF Preprints 8eqmb, Center for Open Science.
    10. Christos J. Paraskevopoulos, 2017. "Varieties of capitalism, quality of government, and policy conditionality in Southern Europe:Greece and Portugal in comparative perspective," GreeSE – Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe 117, Hellenic Observatory, LSE.
    11. Eréndira León Bravo, 2022. "Three essays on education, wages, and the labour market in Mexico," Economics PhD Theses 0322, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    12. 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).
    13. Nikitas Konstantinidis & Yannis Karagiannis, 2020. "Intrinsic vs. extrinsic incentives for reform: An informational mechanism of E(M)U conditionality," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 601-632, July.
    14. Dionysios Tsirigotis, 2019. "The Greek puzzle: A socio-political analysis of the current Greek crisis," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 22(2), pages 148-167, June.
    15. Valentine Fays & Benoît Mahy & François Rycx, 2023. "Wage differences according to workers' origin: The role of working more upstream in GVCs," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 37(2), pages 319-342, June.
    16. Christian Daude, 2016. "Structural reforms to boost inclusive growth in Greece," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1298, OECD Publishing.
    17. Ramos, Raul & Sanromá, Esteban & Simón, Hipólito, 2022. "Collective bargaining levels, employment and wage inequality in Spain," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 375-395.
    18. Sebastian Dellepiane & Niamh Hardiman, 2012. "Fiscal Politics In Time: Pathways to Fiscal Consolidation, 1980-2012," Working Papers 201228, Geary Institute, University College Dublin.
    19. Maria M. Campos & Domenico Depalo & Evangelia Papapetrou & Javier J. Pérez & Roberto Ramos, 2017. "Understanding the public sector pay gap," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-29, December.
    20. Kristina Nyström & Gulzat Zhetibaeva Elvung, 2015. "New Firms as Employers: The Wage Penalty for Voluntary and Involuntary Job Switchers," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 29(4), pages 348-366, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C31 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models; Quantile Regressions; Social Interaction Models
    • C34 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models
    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • 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
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy

    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:ehl:lserod:62743. 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: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.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.