Quaderni IRCrES-CNR, n. 2

2017

study design to analyse this main relation and explain possible reasons of high
levels of salary in public administration.

2. Materials, Methods and Study Design
The hypothesis of this study is the following (HP):

HP: high levels of compensation for central government senior
manager are positively associated to high levels of Members of
Parliament (MPs') salaries, ceteris paribus.

The present study ascertains whether empirical evidence substantiates the
hypothesis (HP).
The indicators of this study and sources of data are shown in Table 1.
We focus on the annual compensation of central government senior managers.
The level of total compensation for senior managers in the public sector is one
indicator of the attractiveness of the public sector and of its ability to keep talent
for positions with high levels of responsibility in government.
Compensation in these positions represents a minimal share of public
expenditures, but holds symbolic value as it concerns staff who have a leading role
in government policy making and execution and whose appointment is often
discretionary. D1 managers, following OECD definition, are top public servants
below the minister or Secretary of State. In particular, D1 Managers are top public
servants just below the minister or Secretary of State/junior minister. They can be
a member of the senior civil service and/or appointed by the government or head
of government2.
2

D1 managers differ from country to country but they correspond, mainly, to the figure of Ministry

General Director.

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