Abstract: This paper resolves the empirical puzzle in the public-private wage literature: why studies using similar data reach contradictory conclusions about wage premiums and penalties. Utilizing rich French administrative panel data (2012-2019), this study has two main contributions: first, it presents a set of new, intuitive yet previously undocumented stylized facts about wage dynamics, sectoral mobility, and gender differences across sectors. Two, the results reveal that the modest hourly wage gaps conceal substantial disparities in lifetime earnings and employment stability. Women, in particular, gain a significant lifetime earnings advantage in the public sector, driven by higher retention, better-compensated part-time work, and more equitable annual hours compared to the private sector, where gender gaps remain larger, especially for those with higher education. In contrast, highly educated men experience a lifetime penalty in public employment due to rigid wage structures. By flexibly modeling sectoral transitions, transitions into and out of employment, and earnings heterogeneity using an Expectation-Maximization algorithm, this study shows that both premiums and penalties depend systematically on gender, education, and labor market experience. The analysis reveals that significant unobserved heterogeneity remains in wage dynamics. These findings unify prevailing narratives by providing a comprehensive, descriptive account of sectoral differences in transitions, part-time work and wages by gender.

Abstract: This paper explores the extent to which job-to-job transitions correlate with monetary incentives in the French labor market from 2011-2019. We employ k-means clustering to categorize firms and Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithms to classify workers, incorporating occupational data to refine worker classification. Building on the AKM (Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis) literature, we re-evaluate the extent to which previously identified worker effects can be attributed to occupational choices instead. 

Abstract: This study examines the impact of privatization on female full-time employment, with implications for UN SDG 5 on gender equality. Using forecasted treatment effects and bootstrapping, data from 1997-2007 are analyzed to estimate the Average Treatment Effect on female full-time employment. Deterministic trends forecast counterfactual outcomes, while bootstrapping estimates the ATE's confidence intervals. Findings reveal a significant decline in female full-time employment post-privatization. This case study highlights the importance of considering gender costs in privatization policies and underscores the need for robust methods in policy analysis. Further research should explore long-term implications and mechanisms affecting gender equality.