Working for a Good Cause

Dur, Robert; Zoutenbier, Robin

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1965414

Download This Paper

Open PDF in Browser

Add Paper to My Library

Working for a Good Cause

Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No. 11-168/3

37 Pages Posted: 29 Nov 2011 Last revised: 3 Dec 2012

See all articles by Robert Dur

Robert Dur

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Economics; Tinbergen Institute; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Robin Zoutenbier

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Erasmus School of Economics (ESE)

There are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 24, 2011

Abstract

A rich literature in public administration has shown that public sector employees have stronger altruistic motivations than private sector employees. Recent economic theories stress the importance of mission preferences, and predict that altruistic people sort into the public sector when they subscribe to its mission. This paper uses data from a representative survey among more than 30.000 employees from 50 countries to test this prediction. We nd strong evidence for a mutually reinforcing role of altruism and mission alignment in sorting to the public sector, particularly among highly educated workers and among workers in less-developed countries.

Keywords: public service motivation, altruism, mission preferences, sorting, World Values Survey

JEL Classification: H1, J45, M5

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Dur, Robert and Zoutenbier, Robin, Working for a Good Cause (November 24, 2011). Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No. 11-168/3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1965414 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1965414