PUBLIC SECTOR PAY GAP IN SERBIA DURING LARGE-SCALE PRIVATISATION,BY EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

The paper explores the effect of large-scale privatisation of public sector activities on public-private sector pay differential, for groups of workers according to educational qualification on average and across the pay distribution in Serbia, from 2004 until 2008. The paper finds that both unskilled and skilled men and women in the public sector saw significant improvements in their financial position relative to their private sector counterparts with the progress of the economic transition. The results showed that the size of the public sector pay premium declines both with higher educational level and higher percentile of earnings distribution. This indicates, between and within groups, the inequality-reducing feature of the public sector pay determination.