IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/1920.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

An Analysis of Public and Private Sector Wages Allowing for Endogenous Choices of Both Government and Union Status

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph Gyourko
  • Joseph Tracy

Abstract

Studies of public/private sector wage differentials typically assume that the govenment and union status of a worker are exogenous variables. Recently, some studies have relaxed this assumption slightly by allowing the union status to be endogenous. In this paper, we consider a more general selection model in which a worker selects among four labor markets: private/nonunion, private/union, public/nonunion and public/union. A multinomial logit model is estimated to capture this selection decision. Consistent wage equation estimates are then derived using a generalization of the now familiar two-step estimation procedure. Some evidence is found for selection bias in the private/nonunion and the public/union sectors.The pattern of these selection effects produces larger union wage premiumsin the public as compared to the private sector. While this is in contrast to the standard findings, the standard errors on the public sector union wage differentials are quite high. In addition, the data indicates that the public/private sector wage differential is largest for federal workers despite the "comparability" process determining their wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Gyourko & Joseph Tracy, 1986. "An Analysis of Public and Private Sector Wages Allowing for Endogenous Choices of Both Government and Union Status," NBER Working Papers 1920, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:1920
    Note: LS
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w1920.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Willis, Robert J & Rosen, Sherwin, 1979. "Education and Self-Selection," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 7-36, October.
    2. Casey Ichniowski, 1980. "Economic Effects of the Firefighters' Union," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 33(2), pages 198-211, January.
    3. Ehrenberg, Ronald G, 1973. "The Demand for State and Local Government Employees," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 63(3), pages 366-379, June.
    4. Sharon P. Smith, 1976. "Pay Differentials between Federal Government and Private Sector Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 29(2), pages 179-197, January.
    5. Ehrenberg, Ronald G. & Schwarz, Joshua L., 1987. "Public-sector labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 22, pages 1219-1260, Elsevier.
    6. Morley Gunderson, 1979. "Earnings Differentials between the Public and Private Sectors," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 12(2), pages 228-242, May.
    7. Lee, Lung-Fei, 1978. "Unionism and Wage Rates: A Simultaneous Equations Model with Qualitative and Limited Dependent Variables," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 19(2), pages 415-433, June.
    8. Walter Fogel & David Lewin, 1974. "Wage Determination in the Public Sector," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 27(3), pages 410-431, April.
    9. Bartel, Ann & Lewin, David, 1981. "Wages and Unionism in the Public Sector: The Case of Police," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 63(1), pages 53-59, February.
    10. Farber, Henry S, 1984. "Right-to-Work Laws and the Extent of Unionization," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(3), pages 319-352, July.
    11. Borjas, George J, 1982. "The Politics of Employment Discrimination in the Federal Bureaucracy," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 25(2), pages 271-299, October.
    12. Gregory M. Duncan & Duane E. Leigh, 1980. "Wage Determination in the Union and Nonunion Sectors: A Sample Selectivity Approach," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 34(1), pages 24-34, October.
    13. Ronald G. Ehrenberg & Daniel R. Sherman & Joshua L. Schwarz, 1983. "Unions and Productivity in the Public Sector: A Study of Municipal Libraries," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(2), pages 199-213, January.
    14. William H. Baugh & Joe A. Stone, 1982. "Teachers, Unions, and Wages in the 1970s: Unionism Now Pays," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 35(3), pages 368-376, April.
    15. Richard B. Freeman, 1982. "Union Wage Practices and Wage Dispersion within Establishments," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(1), pages 3-21, October.
    16. John M. Abowd & Henry S. Farber, 1982. "Job Queues and the Union Status of Workers," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 35(3), pages 354-367, April.
    17. Heckman, James J, 1974. "Shadow Prices, Market Wages, and Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(4), pages 679-694, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Freeman, Richard B, 1986. "Unionism Comes to the Public Sector," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 41-86, March.
    2. Keith A. Bender, 1998. "The Central Government‐Private Sector Wage Differential," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(2), pages 177-220, April.
    3. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pc:p:3573-3630 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. 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.
    5. Adamson, Dwight W., 1991. "Labor Unions and Racial Wage Differentials: A Longitudinal Analysis," Economics Staff Papers 232179, South Dakota State University, Department of Economics.
    6. Ismaël Mourifié & Marc Henry & Romuald Méango, 2020. "Sharp Bounds and Testability of a Roy Model of STEM Major Choices," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(8), pages 3220-3283.
    7. Carrasco, Raquel, 2001. "Binary Choice with Binary Endogenous Regressors in Panel Data: Estimating the Effect of Fertility on Female Labor Participation," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 19(4), pages 385-394, October.
    8. repec:eee:labchp:v:2:y:1986:i:c:p:1039-1089 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. 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.
    10. Abramitzky, Ran, 2009. "The effect of redistribution on migration: Evidence from the Israeli kibbutz," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3-4), pages 498-511, April.
    11. Alan B. Krueger, 1988. "Are Public Sector Workers Paid More Than Their Alternative Wage? Evidence from Longitudinal Data and Job Queues," NBER Chapters, in: When Public Sector Workers Unionize, pages 217-242, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. 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.
    13. A. Rashad Abdel†Khalik, 1990. "The jointness of audit fees and demand for MAS: A self†selection analysis," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(2), pages 295-322, March.
    14. Barry T. Hirsch, 2004. "Reconsidering Union Wage Effects: Surveying New Evidence on an Old Topic," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 25(2), pages 233-266, April.
    15. Casey Rothschild & Florian Scheuer, 2013. "Redistributive Taxation in the Roy Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 128(2), pages 623-668.
    16. D'Haultfoeuille, Xavier & Maurel, Arnaud, 2009. "Inference on a Generalized Roy Model, with an Application to Schooling Decisions in France," IZA Discussion Papers 4606, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Corneo, Giacomo & Lucifora, Claudio, 1997. "Wage formation under union threat effects: Theory and empirical evidence," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 265-292, September.
    18. Keith Bender, 1997. "Specification issues in the modelling of union status determination," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(8), pages 481-485.
    19. Budd, John W & Na, In-Gang, 2000. "The Union Membership Wage Premium for Employees Covered by Collective Bargaining Agreements," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(4), pages 783-807, October.
    20. D’Haultfœuille, Xavier & Maurel, Arnaud, 2013. "Inference on an extended Roy model, with an application to schooling decisions in France," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 174(2), pages 95-106.
    21. Fernando Rios-Avila & Barry T. Hirsch, 2014. "Unions, Wage Gaps, and Wage Dispersion: New Evidence from the Americas," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 1-27, January.
    22. Ehrenberg, Ronald G. & Schwarz, Joshua L., 1987. "Public-sector labor markets," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 22, pages 1219-1260, Elsevier.

    More about this item

    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:nbr:nberwo:1920. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.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.