Using a unique dataset of German members of parliament (MPs) this paper analyzes the politicians’ wage gap (PWG). After controlling for observable characteristics as well as accounting for election probabilities and campaigning costs, we find a positive income premium for MPs which is...

Using cross-country data for 51 countries, including 23 in Africa, the author controls for differences in per capita income and measures the effect of structural variables on a number of outcomes, including the quality, integrity and prestige of public service. He finds merit-based recruitment...

This article models the imperfect detection of tax evasion motivated by the existence of a corrupt tax administration. Consistent with previous literature, fines and audit probabilities both have a positive effect on compliance. Moreover, the model shows that they have a negative effect on the...

The objectives of this study are three-fold. The first is to rebut Charles Kindleberger’s famous dictum that usury ‘belongs less to economic history than to the history of ideas’; and in particular to demonstrate that the resuscitation of the anti-usury campaign from the early 13th century...

At the micro level, economists seek to understand and interpret the decision making process of individuals for investment in human capital, as well as the many factors that can influence this process. On the other hand, the economics of education is concerned with the impacts of individual...

Using the recent Wage Structure Survey 2010, this article examines the public-private sector wage gaps in Spain across the whole earnings distribution and the incidence of the gender gap in both sectors of the economy. Firstly, we find that that there is positive wage premium to public sector...

We evaluate public-private sector wage differentials in Turkey for the years 2005 and 2011, a period marked by educational upgrading and restructuring in public employment. Using micro data from Household Labour Force Surveys we find a positive premium for low wage earners and a penalty of...

The paper measures the gender wage differentials among members of the Icelandic public sector union federation Association of Academics (BHM). The collective bargaining agremeents of the member unions have changed dramatically during the last 15 years while the agreements have also been...

We study the pay gap between the public and the private sectors in Croatia just before and in the wake of the recent Great Recession. Using the Labor Force Survey data, we decompose the real hourly wage gap of full-time workers in 2008 and 2011 into the contributions of differences in workers’...

Using the recent Wage Structure Survey 2010, this article examines the public-private sector wage gaps in Spain across the whole earnings distribution and the incidence of the gender gap in both sectors of the economy. Firstly, we find that that there is positive wage premium to public sector...