2026-04-13T01:22:00Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2445/1165952025-11-19T20:44:04Zcom_2072_1057col_2072_478859col_2072_478917

urn:hdl:2445/116595 Beaches, sunshine, and public-sector pay: theory and evidence on amenities and rent extraction by government workers Brueckner, Jan K. Neumark, David Igualtat retributiva Sector públic Variables (Matemàtica) Pay equity Public sector Variables (Mathematics) The absence of a competitive market and the presence and strength of public-sector labor unions make it likely that public-sector pay reflects an element of rent extraction by government workers. In this paper, we test a specific hypothesis that connects such rent extraction to the level of local amenities. Specifically, although migration of taxpayers limits the extent of rent-seeking, public-sector workers may be able to extract higher rents in regions where high amenities mute the migration response. We develop a theoretical model that predicts such a link between public-sector wage differentials and local amenities, and we test the model’s predictions by analyzing variation in these wage differentials and amenities across states. The evidence reveals that public-sector wage differentials are, in fact, larger in the presence of high amenities, with the effect being stronger for unionized public-sector workers, who are likely better able to exercise political power in extracting rents. 2017-10-13T13:55:25Z 2017-10-13T13:55:25Z 2011 info:eu-repo/semantics/workingPaper Reproducció del document publicat a: http://www.ieb.ub.edu/2012022157/ieb/ultimes-publicacions IEB Working Paper 2011/42 [WP E-IEB11/42] cc-by-nc-nd, (c) Brueckner et al., 2011 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Institut d’Economia de Barcelona IEB (Institut d’Economia de Barcelona) – Working Papers