Tailoring Civil Service Pay Analysis and Advice to Context : Challenges, Approaches, and the Case of Lao PDR

The adequacy of compensation for government workers and the affordability of the public sector wage bill are important concerns for many developing countries. Suitable pay is considered a necessary -- albeit far from sufficient -- condition for att...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Barma, Naazneen H., Orac, Jana
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2014
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING ACCOUNTING PRACTICES AGE GROUPS ANALYTICAL APPROACH AVERAGE WAGES BLOCK GRANTS BRIBES BUDGETARY REVENUES CENTRAL AUTHORITIES CENTRAL BODY CIVIL SERVANT CIVIL SERVANT STATUS CIVIL SERVANTS CIVIL SERVICE CIVIL SERVICE AGENCY CIVIL SERVICE PAY CIVIL SERVICE REFORM CIVIL SERVICE SALARIES COLLAPSE COMMERCIAL BANKS COMMODITY PRICES COMPENSATION PACKAGE COMPENSATION PACKAGES CORRUPTION COUNTRY COMPARISONS DATA COLLECTION DEMOCRACY DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT DOMESTIC FIRMS EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EDUCATIONAL LEVELS EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY EVIDENCE DOES EXPENDITURE CONTROLS FINANCIAL CRISIS FISCAL CONSTRAINT FISCAL CONSTRAINTS FISCAL COSTS FISCAL ENVELOPE FISCAL PERSPECTIVE FISCAL POLICY FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY GOVERNMENT BUDGET GOVERNMENT CADRES GOVERNMENT EMPLOYMENT GOVERNMENT EXPENDITURES GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE HEALTH CARE HEALTH INSURANCE HEALTH SECTOR HEALTH WORKERS HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION HOUSEHOLD SURVEY HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS HOUSING HUMAN RESOURCE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOB SECURITY JOB TENURE JOBS LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LAWS LEGISLATION LIABILITY MINISTER MINISTRIES OF FINANCE MINISTRY OF FINANCE MONETARY INCENTIVES MULTINATIONAL NATIONAL SECURITY NATURAL RESOURCES NEPOTISM NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES OFFICE WORKERS ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE PENSIONS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE ORIENTATION PERMANENT JOB POLICE POLICY DECISIONS POVERTY REDUCTION PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIVATE ENTERPRISES PRIVATE FIRMS PRIVATE SECTOR PRIVATE SECTOR FIRMS PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS PRIVATE SECTOR WORKERS PRODUCTIVITY PROVINCIAL LEVEL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC EMPLOYEES PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT PUBLIC EXPENDITURE PUBLIC EXPENDITURE REVIEW PUBLIC EXPENDITURE TRACKING PUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT PUBLIC SECTOR PUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEES PUBLIC SECTOR JOB PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR PUBLIC SECTOR REFORM PUBLIC SECTOR SPECIALIST PUBLIC SECTOR WORKERS PUBLIC SERVICE QUANTITATIVE DATA QUANTITATIVE INDICATORS RECURRENT EXPENDITURE RECURRENT EXPENDITURES REFORM AGENDA REMEDIES SAVINGS SECONDARY SCHOOLING SECTOR MANAGERS SERVICE DELIVERY SERVICE EMPLOYMENT SOCIAL SECURITY STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES STATISTICAL ANALYSIS SUBSIDIARIES SUBSIDIARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TOTAL EMPLOYMENT TOTAL EXPENDITURE TOTAL SPENDING TOTAL WAGE TRIANGULATION TYPES OF ENTITIES UNCERTAINTY UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS WAGE BILL WAGE EXPENDITURES WORKER WORKING CONDITIONS YOUNGER WORKERS
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/01/18802737/tailoring-civil-service-pay-analysis-advice-context-challenges-approaches-case-lao-pdr http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16834

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Summary:	The adequacy of compensation for government workers and the affordability of the public sector wage bill are important concerns for many developing countries. Suitable pay is considered a necessary -- albeit far from sufficient -- condition for attracting and retaining skilled public sector staff. This paper makes the case for conducting fine-grained analysis of pay and compensation issues in order to enable an accurate assessment of the challenges faced and thereby to generate good-fit reform recommendations that are both principled and feasible. The first part of the paper focuses on prevalent challenges in pay reform, both contextual and analytical. It builds on the experiences from three very different settings: Armenia, the Lao People s Democratic Republic, and Mongolia. The study begins by surveying some of the common difficulties in conducting granular analysis on civil service compensation. It then outlines a series of methodological approaches that can prove useful in developing comprehensive, targeted, and nuanced pay analyses and discusses how it is possible to overcome potential limitations in practice. The second half of the paper presents a case study of pay and compensation analysis in Lao PDR. The study illuminates how a number of these approaches can be combined in assessing a specific set of pay challenges and generating robust recommendations tailored to context. A brief postscript, with the benefit of hindsight on what subsequently happened on the ground in Lao PDR, reflects on the limitations of technical analysis in motivating reform implementation in practice.

Tailoring Civil Service Pay Analysis and Advice to Context : Challenges, Approaches, and the Case of Lao PDR

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