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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.
%0 Journal Article
%1 kiatpongsan2014ceo
%A Kiatpongsan, Sorapop
%A Norton, Michael I.
%D 2014
%I SAGE Publications
%J Perspectives on Psychological Science
%K equal_pay income_inequality social_inequality
%N 6
%P 587--593
%R 10.1177/1745691614549773
%T How Much (More) Should CEOs Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay
%U https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1745691614549773
%V 9
%X Abstract
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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.
@article{kiatpongsan2014ceo,
abstract = { Abstract
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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.},
added-at = {2023-04-26T16:32:41.000+0200},
author = {Kiatpongsan, Sorapop and Norton, Michael I.},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/2336f709b2b768bfd9add012e6dc8e4d0/meneteqel},
doi = {10.1177/1745691614549773},
interhash = {a9fa43b773126ab22f8ed6f1ee945a9b},
intrahash = {336f709b2b768bfd9add012e6dc8e4d0},
journal = {Perspectives on Psychological Science},
keywords = {equal_pay income_inequality social_inequality},
language = {en-US},
month = nov,
number = 6,
pages = {587--593},
publisher = {{SAGE} Publications},
timestamp = {2023-04-26T16:32:41.000+0200},
title = {How Much (More) Should {CEOs} Make? A Universal Desire for More Equal Pay},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1745691614549773},
volume = 9,
year = 2014
}