Volume 18, Number 3 (Summer) 1983
Utgoff, Kathleen Classen. 1983. "Compensation Levels and Quit Rates in the Public Sector." Journal of Human Resources 18(3):394-406.
Many people feel that, despite the government's stated objective of pay comparability, government workers are paid more than their private-sector counterparts. The quit rate as a comparability measure is the subject of this paper. Since quit rates are a function of pay levels, comparable quit rates-adjusted for nonpay determinants-should mean comparable pay. The evidence presented here indicates that government quit rates are lower than private-sector quit rates although much of the difference can be accounted for by the large size of the government. It is also pointed out that comparability-of either pay or total compensation-is not an efficient principle.
The author is an Economist with the Center for Naval Analyses.
This paper was prepared under contract N00014-79-0448 for the Office of
Assistant Secretary of Defense Manpower, Reserve Affairs & Logistics. The views
expressed here do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Department of
Defense. I am grateful to Dick Thaler and Aline Quester for their comments.
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