What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation
This paper explores the determinants of public employment across the world and finds that it is negatively associated with country size (by population) and positively associated with the income level. The findings show that a country's opennes...
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/167301565099492715/What-Determines-the-Size-of-Public-Employment-An-Empirical-Investigation http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32213 |
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okr-10986-322132022-09-20T00:14:31Z What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation Herrera, Santiago Munoz, Ercio PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE GOVERNMENT SIZE OPENNESS WAGNER'S LAW PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT UNIONS CROWDING OUT This paper explores the determinants of public employment across the world and finds that it is negatively associated with country size (by population) and positively associated with the income level. The findings show that a country's openness to trade is positively associated with public employment in low- and middle-income countries, but inversely related in high-income countries. The estimated models are used to predict the expected public employment for a country given its income, population, and openness to trade, and to compare the actual levels with the predicted ones. In general, public employment in Latin American countries is below the predicted levels, except for Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and the República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Public employment in the Middle East and North Africa is above the predicted levels, particularly in the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Asian and Pacific countries' public employment is significantly below the predicted levels, particularly in Hong Kong SAR, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; and Mongolia. Countries in Europe and Central Asia show higher than predicted public employment, mostly in Romania, Denmark, Sweden, Armenia, and Belorussia. Public employment in Sub-Saharan Africa appears to be below the predicted levels, with the notable exceptions of Botswana and South Africa. The deviations from predicted levels are positively correlated with the union density rate, which is negatively associated with private employment rates. Finally, the study finds no statistical association between public and private employment, suggesting the absence of crowding-out in the employment levels. 2019-08-07T21:14:38Z 2019-08-07T21:14:38Z 2019-08 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/167301565099492715/What-Determines-the-Size-of-Public-Employment-An-Empirical-Investigation http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32213 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8961 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
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Digital Repository |
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Foreign Institution |
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Digital Repositories |
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World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
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World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE GOVERNMENT SIZE OPENNESS WAGNER'S LAW PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT UNIONS CROWDING OUT |
| spellingShingle |
PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENT GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURE GOVERNMENT SIZE OPENNESS WAGNER'S LAW PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT UNIONS CROWDING OUT Herrera, Santiago Munoz, Ercio What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8961 |
| description |
This paper explores the determinants of
public employment across the world and finds that it is
negatively associated with country size (by population) and
positively associated with the income level. The findings
show that a country's openness to trade is positively
associated with public employment in low- and middle-income
countries, but inversely related in high-income countries.
The estimated models are used to predict the expected public
employment for a country given its income, population, and
openness to trade, and to compare the actual levels with the
predicted ones. In general, public employment in Latin
American countries is below the predicted levels, except for
Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Suriname, Trinidad and
Tobago, and the República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Public
employment in the Middle East and North Africa is above the
predicted levels, particularly in the Arab Republic of Egypt
and the Islamic Republic of Iran. East Asian and Pacific
countries' public employment is significantly below the
predicted levels, particularly in Hong Kong SAR, China;
Japan; the Republic of Korea; and Mongolia. Countries in
Europe and Central Asia show higher than predicted public
employment, mostly in Romania, Denmark, Sweden, Armenia, and
Belorussia. Public employment in Sub-Saharan Africa appears
to be below the predicted levels, with the notable
exceptions of Botswana and South Africa. The deviations from
predicted levels are positively correlated with the union
density rate, which is negatively associated with private
employment rates. Finally, the study finds no statistical
association between public and private employment,
suggesting the absence of crowding-out in the employment levels. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Herrera, Santiago Munoz, Ercio |
| author_facet |
Herrera, Santiago Munoz, Ercio |
| author_sort |
Herrera, Santiago |
| title |
What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation |
| title_short |
What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation |
| title_full |
What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation |
| title_fullStr |
What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation |
| title_full_unstemmed |
What Determines the Size of Public Employment? An Empirical Investigation |
| title_sort |
what determines the size of public employment? an empirical investigation |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2019 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/167301565099492715/What-Determines-the-Size-of-Public-Employment-An-Empirical-Investigation http://hdl.handle.net/10986/32213 |
| _version_ |
1764476045421969408 |