AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Regional Differences in Public-Sector Productivity and Managerial Talent
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 114,
May 2024
(pp. 592–96)
Abstract
This paper studies whether regional differences in the productivity of Italian Social Security Agency offices can be explained by variation in manager characteristics. Consistent with other settings, offices in the North are more productive on average than those in the South. However, managers differ primarily in demographic characteristics, attaining similar levels of education. Because most of the variation in office productivity is within rather than across region, reassigning managers to more productive offices increases total (and within-region) inequality in productivity while decreasing across-region inequality.Citation
Fenizia, Alessandra. 2024. "Regional Differences in Public-Sector Productivity and Managerial Talent." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 114: 592–96. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241077Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D24 Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
- H83 Public Administration; Public Sector Accounting and Audits
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J45 Public Sector Labor Markets
- R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics