Development of public-private wage differential in the Netherlands 1979 - 2009

The public premium has disappeared during the 1980s when public-private wage linkages have been abandoned. Although the balance was partly restored recently when wages in education improved, the public premium was still -2% in 2009. On average, public sector wages are unfavourable for men, people over 35 and higher educated. Most public-sector women earn a premium over private-sector women, but not in all cases: not in 1989, nor higher educated women in recent years.