Análisis del ingreso laboral como medida de retorno de la educación en Ecuador: Una comparación entre los sectores público y privado. Años 2007 y 2016

Abstract

This research analyzes the difference of returns to education, between private sector workers and those in public sector in Ecuador, with longitudinal data from 2007 and 2016. The Mincer equation and the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition model were applied. They reveal that public sector workers earn higher income because they have higher levels of formal education, but also because they work in the public sector, simply. In 2007, public employees received salaries of $ 271.59 higher than those of the private sector on average; the gap for 2016 was extended to $ 472.38 per month. Each year of schooling, however, contributes more to the salary in the private sector (7.79% in 2007 and 6% in 2016) than in the public sector (5.15% in 2007 and 5.83% in 2016). In turn, the salary gap was explained in 73.6% for human capital in 2007 and 46.9% for 2016, which confirms that the salary increase was not due to differences in human capital and productivity, but to exogenous political decisions.