CEOs prove pay is not performance

(Image: Getty)

Sat, 04 Oct 2025

A common complaint in the public sector is “we don’t get high-quality executives because we don’t pay as much as the private sector”. Another one is: “Chief executives in NZ aren’t as good because we don’t pay as much as Australia or the US.” This always strikes me as nonsense thinking, because it assumes that every dollar someone is paid implies more value wrought. If they’re paid so goddamn much, they must be good!IncentivesLet’s reverse engineer that a little. By this thin...

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