Comparing Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Workers: An Overview
CRS - Comparing Compensation for Federal and Private-Sector Workers: An Overview - David H. Bradley, Specialist in Labor Economics - July 30, 2012
"Of the five studies under review, one reports an overall average wage penalty for federal workers (PPA), one reports neither an overall average wage premium nor a penalty for federal workers, and three find overall average wage premia for federal workers compared to private sector workers. Only two of the studies — CBO and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) - report earnings differentials by level of educational attainment, however. While the AEI report shows a clear wage premium across levels of educational attainment, the more methodologically rigorous CBO study finds a more nuanced outcome. That is, federal workers with less than a bachelor’s degree have on average a wage premium compared to private sector counterparts, while federal workers with post-graduate educational attainment on average experience a wage penalty relative to private sector counterparts."
