Public-private differences in incentive structures: a laboratory experiment on work motivation and performance

M. Jin LEE*, Nicolai PETROVSKY, Richard M. WALKER

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, we contribute to a longstanding research agenda on the distinctions between the public and private sectors by examining whether work effort differs between public and private settings, and by testing the ways that sector-specific incentives can address such differences. We extend existing research by developing an advanced psychomotor vigilance task that examines multi-dimensional performance (speed and accuracy) in a laboratory experiment. Drawing from a population that is similar along many dimensions, subjects are recruited into public and private settings on the basis of their motivation (majors they have chosen to study and the types of compensation they receive). Using a two-by-two factorial design of public (public job motivated and non-monetary motivated) and private (monetary-motivated) settings, with and without incentives, our findings indicate that public and private settings differ in performance and response to incentives. Methodologically, we show how the choices that experimental subjects make can be exploited for modeling sectoral differences in a more naturalistic way than with a short-term prime, while preserving the advantages of a controlled laboratory experiment.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)183-202
Number of pages20
JournalInternational Public Management Journal
Volume24
Issue number2
Early online date12 Jan 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Funding

This research was supported by the University Grants Committee, Research Grants Council (project no. CityU 11611516), and the National Research Foundation of Korea, Korean Government (NRF-2017S1A3A2067636).

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