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tldr, the conclusion: This paper has presented evidence that making wages public compresses the top of the public sector wage distribution. The evidence assemb
by a_imho 9y ago
tldr, the conclusion:
This paper has presented evidence that making wages public compresses the top of the
public sector wage distribution. The evidence assembled is more in line with a “populist”
response to visibility of top salaries than the effect of making public officials more accountable:
salaries are cut because they appear excessive, regardless of whether or not they actually are.
I did not spend enough time on the paper to comment on the measurement details, however I would rather trust the public's opinion on what is excessive.
Also I find it a bit ill posed to study the effects of making public wages transparent. They should be by default.
- gcb0 9y agono need. they compare California (high competition from private sector) with other states without such competition. they could manipulate it to proove any point. with the same data I could say that with sunnier days lead to more employee attrition. any point that California differs from the other state can be blamed, after the author ignored the private sector salaries, and he chose to pick a competing state without salary transparency to make their point.