Understanding What Has Been Happening to the Public‐Sector Pay Premium in Great Britain: A Distributional Approach Based on the Labour Force Survey

Abstract

This article investigates what has been happening to the public-sector wage differential in Great Britain over the period 1994-2017. The evidence indicates that apart from men in the lower part of the pay distribution, the public-sector pay premium has declined for all public-sector workers. This decline has coincided with a decline in the overall pay gap, which is associated with changes in the composition of public-and private-sector workforces. As the relative pay disadvantage experienced by public-sector workers at the top of the pay distribution has worsened over time this must raise serious concerns about the ability of the public sector to recruit and retain the staff it needs to deliver public services.

Understanding pay satisfaction in public sector: evidence from Sri Lanka

“…The results showed that three of these characteristics, namely, work experience, income earners and dependents, have significant effect on pay satisfaction. In this regard, it is very rare to find empirical studies that tested the effect of these variables on pay satisfaction (Murphy et al , 2020). Therefore, the present study makes an important contribution for the literature on pay satisfaction and public sector.…”

“…governments can use its pay practices as a competitive strategy to attract competent individuals to the public sector (Murphy et al, 2020). Because of such competing interests of governments, the world has witnessed public-sector pay practices becoming increasingly formalized and sophisticated.…”

“…From the point of view of public sector, pay constitutes a significant portion of any government’s operating expenses, and governments naturally question the impact of pay practices on broader scale. Public sector is increasingly concerned about prevailing pay practices and avenues to reduce labour costs while ensuring that employees elicit productive behaviour at work (Feng et al , 2020; Murphy et al , 2020). Futuristic governments can use its pay practices as a competitive strategy to attract competent individuals to the public sector (Murphy et al , 2020).…”

“…Public sector is increasingly concerned about prevailing pay practices and avenues to reduce labour costs while ensuring that employees elicit productive behaviour at work (Feng et al , 2020; Murphy et al , 2020). Futuristic governments can use its pay practices as a competitive strategy to attract competent individuals to the public sector (Murphy et al , 2020). Because of such competing interests of governments, the world has witnessed public-sector pay practices becoming increasingly formalized and sophisticated.…”

Are Women Doing It for Themselves? Female Managers and the Gender Wage Gap*

“…Column 2 adds 11 industry dummies that identify the industry sector in which the workplace operates (Section level of the UK's Standard Industrial Classification (2007) ) and whether the workplace belongs to the private or public sector. These are intended to control for interindustry wage differentials and private/public sector pay differentials (Murphy et al ., 2020) which may be correlated with the gender composition of employment (and particularly the gender composition of management) (see Gannon et al ., 2007; Murphy et al ., 2020).…”