Workforce quality in the public sector

On 19 February 2016 from 09:30 to 14:00

The Institute for Fiscal Studies

<p>7 Ridgmount Street<br />London<br />WC1E 7AE</p>

This workshop draws together recent innovative research on the measurement of public sector workforce quality and of the effect of pay on quality and of quality on outcomes in different parts of the public sector. The workshop will be of interest not just to economists interested in the labour market and in public finance, but also to practitioners working in the field of pay-setting, pay regulation, and public policy.

Topic of the workshop

Public sector pay has been falling, relative to private sector pay, since 2011. This trend is likely to continue for several more years. What are the implications of this relative fall for the quality of the public sector workforce and for the services provided by the public sector? Labour economists generally see a relationship between relative pay on the one hand and the quality of recruits and the retained workforce on the other. But it is extremely hard to measure workforce quality, especially in the public sector. This workshop draws together recent innovative research on the measurement of public sector workforce quality and of the effect of pay on quality and of quality on outcomes in different parts of the public sector. The workshop will be of interest not just to economists interested in the labour market and in public finance, but also to practitioners working in the field of pay-setting, pay regulation, and public policy.

Speakers

Carol Propper (Professor of Economics, Imperial College Business School, London) will speak on the determinants of management quality in the NHS.

Matt Sutton (Professor of Economics, University of Manchester) will speak on General Practitioners: fundholders versus salaried GPs - effects on performance.

Rowena Crawford (Associate Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies), will speak on the effect of pay and policing conditions on police officer applicant quality.

Luke Sibieta (Programme Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies), will speak on teachers’ pay incentives and teacher quality.

Panel discussants will include:

Mark Franks, Chief Economist, Office of Manpower Economics

Richard Disney, Research Fellow, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor of Economics, University of Sussex and Visiting Professor of Economics, University College, London.

Timings

Registration from 09.30am for a 10.00am start. Buffet lunch will be provided from 13.00.

The workshop is organised in collaboration with the Office of Manpower Economics and is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council under grant ES L008 165/1.