Public Administration Review · 2002 · 635 citations · 22 references
Social SciencesDemographySociologyPolitical EconomyRecruitmentSocial DemographyDemographic AnalysisEqual Employment OpportunityLabor Force CharacteristicsSocial StratificationWorkforce DemographicsContingency AnalysisDemographic CharacterizationLogistic RegressionStratified Contingency Table AnalysisWorkforce Demographics Analysis
Governments struggle to attract and retain highly qualified employees, making it crucial to understand what draws people to the public service in an era of widespread wealth aspirations. The study investigates how demographic characteristics and the importance placed on job qualities influence individuals' preference for and employment in the public sector. Using contingency table analysis and logistic regression on the 1989 and 1998 General Social Surveys, the authors examine these relationships. Job security remains the strongest attraction, but high income and societal usefulness also draw some Americans; minorities, veterans, Democrats, older adults, women, and college graduates are more likely to prefer or hold public‑sector jobs, yet overall interest in government employment fell sharply between 1989 and 1998.
In an era when everyone wants to be a millionaire, governments struggle to attract and retain highly qualified employees, making it more important than ever to understand what attracts people to the public service. Using contingency table analysis and logistic regression on the 1989 and 1998 General Social Surveys, we explore how individuals' demographic characteristics and the importance they place on various job qualities influence their preference for and employment in the public sector. Job security may still be the strongest attraction of government jobs, but high income and the opportunity to be useful to society also attract some Americans to the public service. Minorities, veterans, Democrats, and older Americans preferred public‐sector jobs more than whites, nonveterans, Republicans, and younger Americans, who were otherwise similar. Women and college graduates were more likely than comparable men and less‐educated respondents to have government jobs, but no more likely to prefer them. Overall, desire for government jobs declined markedly between 1989 and 1998.
22