Job Sector Choice and Public Service Motivation: Evidence from Colombia

Abstract

In this article I examine the determinants of job sector choice with a particular interest in the relationship with the so-called concept of public service motivation (PSM), in the context of a developing country. I use multinomial logit (MNL) to understand individuals’ decisions to take jobs in one of four sectors: government, nonprofit, for-profit, or academic jobs in Colombia. My analysis is based on data about a sample of participants on the Colombian scholarship program, Colfuturo, drawn from between 2002 and 2007. My results indicate that there are important differences in terms of the determinants of job sector choices across the four different sectors and that PSM appears to have a role on such decisions.