GOVERNMENT WAGE POLICY IN AFRICA: Some Findings and Policy Issues

This article documents recent trends in government wage andemployment levels for a number of African countries and challengesthe conventional wisdom that public wages are too high in Africa.Although most countries have significantly adjusted the realwages of government workers over the past decade, considerablevariance in cross-country experience with regard to governmentwage levels, wage structures, and employment growth is evident.On the basis of the observed trends, the article calls for amore microeconomic focus on the relationship between governmentpay and employment policies and on the real consequences ofsuch policies on the government's ability to provide goods andservices.