Study
| EST. READ TIME 1 MIN.Top performers in business—like top athletes and entertainers—are highly sought after globally, well compensated
CEO to Worker Pay: Global Competition for Top Talent
Summary
- A 2018 CCPA report found that the average compensation for the 100 highest-paid CEOs in Canada was $10.4 million, 209 times higher than the average industrial wage in Canada ($49,738).
- Extending the analysis to include all CEOs in the survey reduced average compensation by 77.1% to $2.2 million; the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay fell to 43 to 1.
- Quite telling, the average CEO compensation for the last grouping in the survey is $78,651, a decline of 99.2% compared to the top 100 CEOs; the ratio of CEO-to-worker compensation falls to 1.5-to-1.
- Data for the-top paid global athletes, actors, and musicians shows that they follow the same pattern as CEO compensation. The reality is that there is a global phenomenon regarding the compensation of top talent across sectors.
- Research tends to agree that (1) expanding the size of the market and (2) non-substitutability of top talent are the key explanations.
- Given this global and cross-sector phenomenon, it is not clear how the punitive taxes, governance reforms, or other recommendations would actually reverse, slow, or otherwise affect CEO compensation. It is more probable that such policies would simply encourage “superstars” to re-locate in other more hospitable jurisdictions, harming the Canadian economy and the organizations that employed such people.
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Jason Clemens
Executive Vice President, Fraser Institute
Jason Clemens is the Executive Vice President of the Fraser Institute and the President of the Fraser Institute Foundation. Hehas an Honors Bachelors Degree of Commerce and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Windsor as well as a Post Baccalaureate Degree in Economics from Simon Fraser University. Before rejoining the Fraser Institute in 2012, he was the director of research and managing editor at the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute and prior to joining the MLI, Mr. Clemens spent a little over three years in the United States with the San Francisco-based Pacific Research Institute. He has published over 70 major studies on a wide range of topics, including taxation, government spending, labor market regulation, banking, welfare reform, health care, productivity, and entrepreneurship. He has published over 300 shorter articles, which have appeared in such newspapers as The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily, Washington Post, Globe and Mail, National Post, and a host of U.S., Canadian, and international newspapers. Mr. Clemens has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs across Canada and the United States. He has appeared before committees of both the House of Commons and the Senate in Canada as an expert witness and briefed state legislators in California. In 2006, he received the coveted Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 award presented by Caldwell Partners as well as an Odyssey Award from the University of Windsor. In 2011, he was awarded (along with his co-authors) the prestigious Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for the best-selling book The Canadian Century. In 2012, the Governor General of Canada on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, presented Mr. Clemens with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to the country.… Read more Read Less… -
Jake Fuss
Director, Fiscal Studies, Fraser Institute
Jake Fuss is Director of Fiscal Studies for the Fraser Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Master’s Degree inPublic Policy from the University of Calgary. Mr. Fuss has written commentaries appearing in major Canadian newspapers including the Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, and National Post. His research covers a wide range of policy issues including government spending, debt, taxation, labour policy, and charitable giving.… Read more Read Less… -
Joel Emes
Senior Economist, Fraser InstituteJoel Emes is a Senior Economist, Addington Centre for Measurement, at the Fraser Institute. Joel started his career with theFraser Institute and rejoined after a stint as a senior analyst, acting executive director and then senior advisor to British Columbia’s provincial government. Joel initiated and led several flagship projects in the areas of tax freedom and government performance, spending, debt, and unfunded liabilities. He supports many projects at the Institute in areas such as investment, equalization, school performance and fiscal policy. Joel holds a B.A. and an M.A. in economics from Simon Fraser University.… Read more Read Less…
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