The regional distribution of public employment: theory and evidence

作者：Kessing Sebastian G; Strozzi Chiara

来源：Regional Studies, 2017, 51(7): 1100-1114.

DOI：10.1080/00343404.2016.1156239

• public employment
• redistribution
• regional inequality
• European regions

The regional distribution of public employment: theory and evidence. Regional Studies. This article analyzes the optimal regional pattern of public employment in an information-constrained second-best redistribution policy. It shows that regionally differentiated public employment can serve as an expenditure side-tagging device, bypassing or relaxing the equity-efficiency trade-off. The optimal pattern exhibits higher levels of public employment in low-productivity regions and is more pronounced the higher is the degree of regional inequality. Empirically, using a panel of European regions from 1995 to 2007, the analysis finds evidence that public employment is systematically higher in low-productivity regions. The latter effect is stronger in countries with higher levels of regional inequality.

• 出版日期2017