Why did the mean grade of federal white-collar workers rise 1.2 grades between 1977 and 1993? The author explores 4 possible explanations: (a) increasing complexity of federal work and increasing qualifications of federal workers; (b) declining discrimination against women and minorities; (c) responses to the underpayment of federal workers; and (4) grade creep, an inflation of grades without an accompanying rise in the difficulty and responsibility of the work. Based on analysis of a 1% sample of federal personnel records for 1976 and 1992, the author finds that rising qualifications and declining discrimination appear to be the main causes of the grade rise, though grade creep also seems to play a part. Rising grades do not seem to be a response to private-sector competition in high-pay metropolitan areas.
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