Cited by 337Income, Poverty, and InequalityLabor market dynamics and wage inequalitySocial Policy and Reform Studies

How Much (More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay

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Kiatpongsan, Sorapop, Norton, Michael I.·2014·Perspectives on Psychological Science

Abstract

Do people from different countries and different backgrounds have similar preferences for how much more the rich should earn than the poor? Using survey data from 40 countries ( N = 55,238), we compare respondents’ estimates of the wages of people in different occupations—chief executive officers, cabinet ministers, and unskilled workers—to their ideals for what those wages should be. We show that ideal pay gaps between skilled and unskilled workers are significantly smaller than estimated pay gaps and that there is consensus across countries, socioeconomic status, and political beliefs. Moreover, data from 16 countries reveals that people dramatically underestimate actual pay inequality. In the United States—where underestimation was particularly pronounced—the actual pay ratio of CEOs to unskilled workers (354:1) far exceeded the estimated ratio (30:1), which in turn far exceeded the ideal ratio (7:1). In sum, respondents underestimate actual pay gaps, and their ideal pay gaps are even further from reality than those underestimates.

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Crossref · 10.1177/1745691614549773

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Authors
Kiatpongsan, S., & Norton, M. I.
Affiliations
  • Chulalongkorn University (TH)
  • Harvard University (US)
Venue
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Published
2014-11
Volume
9
Issue
6
Pages
587-593
ISSN
  • 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-6924
OpenAlex
W2039675961
Cited by
337
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 21 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 2
FWCI
51.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard (DASH) (Harvard University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Income, Poverty, and Inequality
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Social Policy and Reform Studies
Keywords
wage inequality, CEO compensation, wage gap, occupational pay, cabinet ministers, low-skilled workers, cross-national comparison, political beliefs, socioeconomic status
MeSH terms
Commerce, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans, Income, Political Systems, Politics, United States, Models, Economic, Internationality

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