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A Distributional Analysis of the Public-Private Wage Differential in India

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  • Azam, Mehtabul

    (Oklahoma State University)

  • Prakash, Nishith

    (Northeastern University)

Abstract

We investigate the public-private wage differential in India using nationally representative micro data. While the existing literature focuses on average wage differential, we study the differences in the wage distributions. The raw wage differential between public and private sector is positive across the entire distribution for both genders irrespective of area of residence. A quantile regression based decomposition analysis reveals that the differences in observed characteristics (covariate effect) account for only a small part of the wage differential at lower quantiles, but a larger part at higher quantiles. At the very top of the distribution, covariate effect account for a majority of the observed wage differential.

Suggested Citation

  • Azam, Mehtabul & Prakash, Nishith, 2010. "A Distributional Analysis of the Public-Private Wage Differential in India," IZA Discussion Papers 5132, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5132
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    Cited by:

    1. Chandan Kumar Mohanty & Smrutirekha Mohanty, 2019. "Public–Private Wage Gap in the Indian Mining and Quarrying Industry," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 13(2), pages 232-253, May.
    2. Deshpande, Ashwini & Goel, Deepti & Khanna, Shantanu, 2018. "Bad Karma or Discrimination? Male–Female Wage Gaps Among Salaried Workers in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 331-344.
    3. Taiwo Aderemi & Ibrahim Alley, 2019. "Gender pay gap in the workplace: the case of public and private sectors in Nigeria," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 21(2), pages 370-391, December.
    4. Clément Imbert, 2013. "Decomposing the Labor Market Earnings Inequality: The Public and Private Sectors in Vietnam, 1993–2006," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 27(1), pages 55-79.
    5. Smrutirekha Singhari & S.Madheswaran, 2015. "Is there a Glass Ceiling or Sticky Floor in India? Examining the Wage Gap across the Wage Distribution," EcoMod2015 8345, EcoMod.
    6. Anuneeta Mitra, 2016. "Education and earning linkages of regular and casual workers in India: a quantile regression approach," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 18(1), pages 147-174, October.
    7. Clément Imbert, 2011. "Decomposing wage inequality: Public and private sectors in Vietnam 1993-2006," PSE Working Papers halshs-00564653, HAL.
    8. 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).
    9. Rahul Menon, 2019. "Short-term contracts and their effect on wages in Indian regular wage employment," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 30(1), pages 142-164, March.
    10. Rahul MENON, 2021. "Determinants of inequality in Indian regular wage employment, 1993–2012," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 160(3), pages 477-500, September.
    11. Paweł Strawiński & Agnieszka Skierska, 2016. "Public–private gap along the wage distribution in Poland," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 44.
    12. Prakash, Nishith, 2020. "The impact of employment quotas on the economic lives of disadvantaged minorities in India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 494-509.
    13. Amir Borges Ferreira Neto & Ricardo Da Silva Fregugli, 2014. "How Much Does Talent Matter? Evidences From The Brazilian Formal Cultural Industry," Anais do XLI Encontro Nacional de Economia [Proceedings of the 41st Brazilian Economics Meeting] 233, ANPEC - Associação Nacional dos Centros de Pós-Graduação em Economia [Brazilian Association of Graduate Programs in Economics].
    14. Sonu Madan, 2019. "Wage Differentials Among Workers: An Empirical Analysis of the Manufacturing and Service Sectors," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 62(4), pages 731-747, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    quantile regression; public-private wage differential; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

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