Abstract | Using CFPS2012 data, this paper empirically investigates the public sector employee wage problem which is hot disputed in China since the beginning of 2014. Oaxaca-Blinder Decomposition shows that: 1. Mean decomposition shows public sector employees do have a negative wage premium, factual wage is lower than its counterfactual alternative by 3.84%, and 7.8% for government institution; 2. The belief that public sector employees enjoy much more hidden income and nonwage benefit than their nonpublic sector counterparts is a prejudice on certain level, when benefit and insurance are incorporated, public sector wage is even more depressed from its counterfactual alternative; 3. The belief that public sector employees enjoy less working hour while more leisure is basically true, while mainly in government institution instead of public institution; 4. Sector choice process of labor has significant influence on wage return, and mainly contributes to the explained differential part; 5. The “Pro-Grass-root” public sector wage reform scheme proposed by relevant ministry, though more favorable to public sentiment, shall be reconsidered, since quantile decomposition indicates that current public wage system inclines to depress the high-class labors’ wage and raise the low-class labors’, low-class public sector employee tends to be overpaid actually. |