scholarly journals Can State & Local Government Consolidation Really Save Money?

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph N. Heiney
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Consolidation ◽  
State And Local

The recent economic crisis was especially damaging to state and local governments financial situations. One suggested solution to these difficulties is to consolidate smaller political jurisdictions into larger ones to reduce costs. This paper presents a theoretical model for the determination of wages and salaries in the public sector with implications for the variation of public sector salaries across jurisdictions of different sizes. Data is presented for public school teachers salaries in Illinois by district size which shows that salaries are higher in larger districts. This would seem to suggest that consolidating smaller school districts into larger ones will result in higher salaries, leading to the question: Will political consolidation really save money?

scholarly journals Wage Determination In The Public Sector

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Joseph N. Heiney
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Wage Determination ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Budget Deficits ◽  
Font Size ◽  
The Public ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Local Budget ◽  
Pension Benefits

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 26pt;"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">As the economy continues to recover from the recent recession of 2008-2009, there has been much discussion of the related issues of increases in federal, state, and local budget deficits and debt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A major element of that discussion concerns public employee salaries and benefits, including under-funded pension benefits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This paper involves the development of a theoretical model for the determination of wages and salaries in the public sector which has implications for these current issues.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span></p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span>

Fiscally driven compensation reform and threats to human capital capacity in the public sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared J. Llorens
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Economic Downturn ◽  
Retirement Benefits ◽  
The Public ◽  
Strategic Human Resources ◽  
State And Local

Compensation systems serve a critical role in strategic human resources management, and over the past twenty-five years, there have been an increasing number of public sector reform efforts aimed at better aligning compensation practices with institutional workforce needs. While many past reforms have been performance driven, the nationʼs most recent economic downturn has served as potent catalyst for a renewed focus on public sector compensation, particularly reforms to public sector retirement benefits. However, given the traditional importance of public sector retirement benefits within broader bureaucratic structures, these new reforms hold the potential to substantially alter human capital capacity in the public sector. Using wage and retirement benefit data from the U.S. Census Bureauʼs Current Population Survey and National Compensation Survey, this paper finds that state and local governments face significant threats to their long-term human capital capacity in light of potential benefit reforms that place a disproportionate emphasis upon competitive wage rates.

Rationalising industrial action: how Ugandan public school teachers and public university lecturers explain their engagement in industrial action

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Obed Kambasu
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Public University ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
University Lecturers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on the rising waves of workplace militancy in the public sector and to provide insights into the perceptions that frame justification for industrial action among Ugandan public sector employees.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews and documentary analysis, analysed qualitatively, as well as a review of theoretical and empirical literature.FindingsPublic school teachers and public university lecturers in Uganda who frequently engage in industrial action mainly rationalise their engagement by the absence, or the ineffectiveness of alternative conflict resolution mechanisms. The findings also show that industrial action, even in resource-constrained settings like Uganda, is stimulated more by the desire to achieve equity rather than by the basic desire to improve working conditions. It is also notable that new, often unstructured, forms of workplace militancy continue to emerge in the public sector, and waves of industrial action are shifting from the industrial to the public sector.Practical implicationsWhereas industrial action is a protected labour right, the findings of this research strongly suggest that public employees do not necessarily enjoy their right to engage, but only reluctantly take industrial action as a “last resort”. The findings will, therefore, help public managers and policymakers to appreciate their responsibility in reducing the compulsion for industrial action among public employees.Originality/valueThis paper provides a general explanation for industrial action from the perspective of the people involved, rather than explaining the causality of specific strike actions. At a time when industrial action is generally declining in the developed industrialised states, this paper sheds light on the rise in collective action in developing countries and especially in the public sector.

scholarly journals Does Compensation & Benefits Matters to Working Women to Perform Well? A Case of Public School Teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Amir Saif ◽  
Maira Amir ◽  
Fawad Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Work Engagement ◽  
Working Women ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Development Work ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
The Public

Pakistan is a developing country and with the changing global trend, technological advancement and human development are taking place. As we know that training and development is a constant growing process which keeps improving the excellence of employees. In education sector training, development and continuous learning play an important role. Teachers spend their lives grooming our children, youth and shaping our generations. Education is the key element for the success of any society. But unfortunately, there are various reasons why the quality of learning and competency level in the Public sector is not up to the benchmark both for students and teachers in Pakistan. According to report 2015-16 of Pakistan education institution of statistics the total primary schools is 145829 of 145, in which is 125573 is public primary school. On the other hand, as per education statistics there are a total of 422,797 primary school teachers of which 324,561 (77%) represents the public sector With such a huge contribution of public schools, there is a great room of improvement for teacher particularly their educational capability to deliver, then only a gradual change can be seen in the long run. The aim of the study is investigating the relationship between training and development, work engagement and women public teachers’ performance. This study also examines compensation & benefits as a moderating variable. This study has used a total of 220 samples to analyze the data. The study has used Smart PLS and SPSS 22 statistical technique to analyze the data. This study used a quantitative method, in which data collected from working women (public school teachers) in Multan, Lodhran, Khanewal, and Vehari cities of the province Punjab in Pakistan. The findings have concluded that there is a significant relationship between training & development, work engagement and employee performance. However, compensation & benefits do not found to be a moderating variable. This research will be helpful for women public teacher’s related issue to training, work engagement, compensation, and benefits. The study recommends this problem could be resolved by considering some basic measures such as appropriate government policy for public teachers training and development, foolproof accountability system, education quality assessment. Injecting latest talent in the education system, international competitive pay scale, and merit-based transparent hiring process and believe that only education can change our children’s future.

Whose money matters in public education: A “public” good that parents purchase

2021 ◽  
pp. 147821032110343
Author(s):  
Eunju Kang
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Public Education ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
New York State ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Education Funding ◽  
Funding Policy ◽  
State And Local

Instead of asking whether money matters, this paper questions whose money matters in public education. Previous literature on education funding uses an aggregate expenditure per pupil to measure the relationship between education funding and academic performance. Federalism creates mainly three levels of funding sources: federal, state, and local governments. Examining New York State school districts, most equitably funded across school districts among the 50 states, this paper shows that neither federal nor state funds are positively correlated with graduation rates. Only local revenues for school districts indicate a strong positive impact. Parents’ money matters. This finding contributes to a contentious discourse on education funding policy in the governments, courts, and academia with respect to education funding and inequality in American public schools.

Pension Enhancements and the Retention of Public Employees

ILR Review ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Koedel ◽  
P. Brett Xiang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Employee Retention ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Public Employees ◽  
Public School Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Public Pension Plans

The authors use data from workers in the largest public-sector occupation in the United States—teaching—to examine the effect of pension enhancements on employee retention. Specifically, they study a 1999 enhancement to the benefit formula for public school teachers in St. Louis, Missouri, that resulted in an immediate and dramatic increase in their incentives to remain in covered employment. To identify the effect of the enhancement on teacher retention, the analysis leverages the fact that the strength of the incentive increase varied across the workforce depending on how far teachers were from retirement eligibility when it was enacted. The results indicate that the St. Louis enhancement—which was structurally similar to enhancements that were enacted in other public pension plans across the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s—was not a cost-effective way to increase employee retention.

scholarly journals Worker Choices About Payouts in Public Pensions

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Clark ◽  
Janet Raye Cowell
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Pension Plans ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Defined Benefit ◽  
Retirement Plans ◽  
The Public ◽  
State And Local ◽  
State Employees ◽  
State Pension

This chapter reviews available data on the annuity choices offered to retirees who participate in defined benefit (DB) plans. DB plans are most commonly offered by state and local governments to their employees, and information on annuity options is readily available. The authors examine all state pension plans that cover general state employees and teachers, and develop a table showing the similarities and differences across these approximately eighty separate state retirement plans. The authors determine the proportion of retirees selecting each of the annuity options. Where possible, annuity options in the public sector are compared to those offered by private sector employers. The chapter also reviews the empirical literature on who chooses the various annuity options offered in DB plans. Finally, the authors consider the policy implications of plan design and how this affects the types of annuities offered to retirees.

Accrual Basis Landscape: The Absence of Political Will in Preventing Dysfunctional Behaviour in Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-83
Author(s):  
Syarifuddin Syarifuddin
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Accrual Accounting ◽  
The Public ◽  
Creative Accounting ◽  
Critical Phenomenology ◽  
Accrual Basis

Objective - This research aims to reveal the failure of accrual accounting to create good governance and clean government in local governments in Indonesia. Additionally, the research seeks to examine the increase in accrual based rapid growth in Indonesia and the instance of corruption among government officials. Methodology/Technique - In connection with this objective, the study explains the practical perspective of political intervention during the adoption of accrual accounting and examines the role of the community in the implementation of accrual accounting using a critical phenomenology method. Findings - The findings of this study show that accrual-based accounting encourages deviant behaviour within the public sector and hence, good governance and clean government cannot be achieved. Accrual basis in this regard becomes a means for actors to conceal fraud by exploiting the weaknesses of accrual-based accounting to allow for creative accounting. Novelty - This study uses a qualitative method to describe the implementation of accrual-based accounting in local governments in Indonesia, which is a new approach to this phenomenon. Type of Paper: Empirical Keywords: Accrual; Accounting; Public Sector; Good Governance; Clean Government; Indonesia. JEL Classification: M10, M14, M19

On the Importance of the Americans With Disabilities Act at 30

2021 ◽  
pp. 104420732110369
Author(s):  
Peter Blanck
Keyword(s):  
Title I ◽  
Individual Difference ◽  
Americans With Disabilities Act ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Employment Discrimination ◽  
Legal Cases ◽  
The Public ◽  
Title Iii ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Definition Of

This article offers a glimpse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) of 1990, as amended by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”), at its 30th anniversary. It considers current issues before the courts, primarily legal cases from 2020 and 2021, and new questions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, such the latitude of the ADA’s antidiscrimination protections and its definition of disability. It provides a quick primer on the basics of the ADA: employment discrimination under Title I, antidiscrimination mandates for state and local governments under Title II, and commands to places of accommodation offering services to the public under Title III. The ADA at 30 remains a beacon for a future in which all people, regardless of individual difference, will be welcomed as full and equal members of society.

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