salaries

Most observers think of the crisis of the European monetary union primarily as a crisis of failed fiscal discipline in a monetary union. Bob Hancke proposes a very different way of looking at this. The crisis of EMU since 2009 has laid bare problematic aspects of the interaction between employment relations, and in particular wage bargaining systems, on the one hand, and central banks on the other.

As we enter the twenty-second century, the need for capping income gaps to guarantee social cohesion and preserve the environment is no longer challenged. Yet only a century ago, this idea seemed utopian. Only as a result of the great crisis of 2008-2015 and the unprecedented inequalities triggered and perpetuated by it was this outcome finally achieved.

The explosion of executive pay in recent decades in all Western countries has been the object of considerable criticism. But it has also given rise to an important debate among economists. A recent study by CEPREMAP sums up the various explanations of this phenomenon and suggests some ways in which executive pay could be reformed.

This study shows that, contrary to preconceptions, CEOs and stars of the sport and entertainment industry are not the first ones to blame for rising inequalities. The evolution of the wages of finance managers has actually contributed greatly to the phenomenon.