Abstract
The attractiveness of public sector jobs in Italy may induce parents working in this sector to use their positions and the network of relationships to favor their sons/daughters in gaining access to public sector jobs. We verify whether children of public employees effectively enjoy an advantage, estimating a model of the probability of working in the public sector controlling for individual characteristics and labor market conditions. We show that if the father is a public employee the probability of his child working in the same sector is increased by a huge 44%. This advantage is larger for low-ability individuals, “stayers” and Southern Italian residents. We interpret these findings as evidence of nepotism in public employment.
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Scoppa, V. Intergenerational transfers of public sector jobs: a shred of evidence on nepotism. Public Choice 141, 167–188 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-009-9444-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11127-009-9444-9