UNVEILING RENT-SEEKING: EXPLORING PUBLIC SECTOR BEHAVIOR IN US STATE CONTEXT

Authors

  • Prof. Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova School of Economics, Novosibirsk State University, Russia.
  • Dr. Sergei Ivanovich Petrov School of Economics, Novosibirsk State University, Russia.

Keywords:

Horizontal rents, Public sector workers, Private sector workers, Income inequality, Compensation premiums, Wage gap

Abstract

This paper studies the compensation premiums paid to public sector workers in excess of their peers in the private sector for the years 2011-15. We call such excess rewards "horizontal rents." We find that public sector workers in the U.S. earn an average of 10% more than their private sector peers, after controlling for education, skills, age, work experience, professional occupation, and other observable characteristics. We also find that the size of the horizontal rent varies across different states and levels of government.

Published

2023-12-01

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2022)

Section

Articles
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