an article by Christoph Hermann (FORBA – The Working Life Research Centre, Vienna and ILO) published in International Journal of Labour Research Volume 6 Issue 1 (2014)
Abstract
In the last decades, the merits of the public sector, including public infrastructures and services, have mostly been discussed with respect to their efficiency. Little attention has been paid to the redistributive effects of public services – despite the fact that equal access to essential services such as health care, education, transport and energy benefits low-income earners more than high-income earners and contributes to social equality.
This has several dimensions:
first, the (cash) value of public services as a
proportion of income is greater for low-income households; for example,
low-income earners use public transport more frequently.
Second, the
public sector provides comparably decent jobs for low-skilled and marginalized
workers, and wage inequality tends to be lower than in the
private sector.
Third, the public sector guarantees of equal treatment of
all citizens by providing the same service for everyone.
However, privatization,
marketization and, more recently, the public sector cuts imposed
in response to the financial crisis have undermined the redistributive
effect of public services.
Full text (PDF 16pp)
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