Abstract

This study analyzes the effect on municipal employee wages of interjurisdictional competition in municipal service markets. The impact of market conditions are analyzed utilizing a bureaucracy model of local governmental decision making. The study develops hypotheses concerning the degree of competition in this market, constructs empirical measures of competition, and investigates the relationship between competition and wage levels for three categories of municipal workers. The empirical results suggest that local market conditions may be as important a determinant of local wages as local labor market conditions, including union membership. Also, the wage effect of unionization appears to be greater in less competitive local government environments.

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