Opinion
Opinion

India’s Talent Trap

Rent-seeking and exams in India’s public sector exams.
India’s Talent Trap
Indian youths take a written entrance exam for one of the Madhya Pradesh State Police Department in a file photo. STR/AFP via Getty Images
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Commentary
In India, government jobs pay far more than equivalent jobs in the private sector—so much so that the entire labor market and educational system have become grossly distorted by rent-seeking to obtain these jobs. Teachers in the public sector, for example, are paid at least five times more than in the private sector. It’s not just the salary. When accounting for lifetime tenure, generous perks, and potentially remunerative possibilities for corruption, a government job’s total value can be up to 10 times that of an equivalent private sector job. (See also here.)
Alex Tabarrok
Alex Tabarrok
Author
Alex Tabarrok is a professor of economics at George Mason, a long-time writer at Marginal Revolution, and co-founder of the online education platform MRU.org. He is an advisor to several firms, including MultiversX, TEAL, Bluechip, and others.