Gomes, Pedro and Kuehn, Z. (2025) You're the one that I want! Understanding the over-representation of women in the public sector. American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics , ISSN 1945-7707. (In Press)
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Abstract
The public sector hires dis-proportionally more women than men. Using microdata for the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, we document gender differences in employment, transition probabilities, hours, and wages in the public and private sector. We use the data to calibrate a search and matching model where men and women decide if to participate and whether to enter public or private-sector labor markets. We then quantify how much of the selection of women into the public sector is driven by: (i) lower gender wage gaps, (ii) fewer hours, (iii) greater job security, or (iv) intrinsic preferences for public sector occupations. Preferences and wages explain most of the over-representation, with significant variations across countries and educational groups. We calculate the monetary value of public sector job security and hours premia, finding that women value fewer hours more while men value job security more. We also show how public-sector wage and employment policies disproportionally affect female unemployment.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Business and Law > Birkbeck Business School |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 17 Jun 2025 12:11 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2025 18:13 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/55796 |
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