10.2190/TR6L-QBL5-65QL-R0AT TR6LQBL565QLR0AT 0 UNION WAGE EFFECTS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT ACROSS ALTERNATIVE GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURES 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=TR6LQBL565QLR0AT 4 JAVED ASHRAF Although numerous studies have been carried out on the wage effects of unions, relatively few have compared the effect of collective bargaining in the public sector relative to that in the private sector. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by calculating separate estimates of the union wage premium for federal, state, and local government workers, and then compares these estimates with that for private sector employees. Relatively new data from the 1987 <em>Panel Study of Income Dynamics</em> is used for this study. It was found that private sector unions lead to larger wage gains for their members than do public sector unions, but that collective bargaining does lead to significant earnings gains in all three governmental sectors.