Public employment and regional redistribution in Spain

We study the determinants, beyond the process of decentralisation, of the regional allocation of public jobs by the Central Government and the increase in the number of public employees at the Regional Governments in Spain during 1990-1999. Using standard panel data econometric procedures we show that the Central Government might have been increasing the number of public jobs in those regions with lower levels of GDP per capita. Also we show that the number of public employees is larger in those regions in which there has been a coincidence between the political orientation of the ruling parties in the Regional and Central Governments. Finally, we find that political variables might explain part of the increase in the number of public employees in the Regional Governments, together with the process of decentralisation and GDPpc.Public Employment; Regional Redistribution; Fiscal Policy Instruments