Abstract
This paper deals with empirical studies on peoples’ opinions on justice of wages. Its material focuses on Germany, but it also takes other Western countries into account. There were some variations, but in general, for all societies researched, a majority estimated the distribution of wages to be unjust at the extremes: in their eyes, unskilled workers are paid too little and, even more clearly, executives are paid too much. The average income of the middle class employee is considered to be just by a (weak) majority, with regional exceptions. Interestingly, though perhaps not amazingly, almost all persons asked estimated their own income to be too low (at most, in some cases, just adequate), regardless of their position (executive, unskilled worker or other). With regard to public debate this data shows that Social Justice cannot simply be reduced to the question of equality of opportunity.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
Theoretical models, like the theory of marginal productivity, can serve as reference standards for the assessment of ‘fairness’. However, whether models of this kind will be accepted by the general public is an open question. Moreover, the assumptions that have to be made in theoretical models, like the assumption of perfect competition, are not necessarily a reality.
- 3.
The field work for the pre-test “Personality and Politics” (www.diw.de/deutsch/sop/service/fra-gen/fr2006/pretest_experiment/pdf) was carried out by TNS Infratest. The 772 interviews were held between 15 April and 18 May 2004 with persons aged 16 and older in private households. The indicators analysed below will also form part of the main SOEP survey in 2005.
- 4.
SOEP is a representative longitudinal survey of private households held every year throughout Germany. See Schupp and Wagner (2002). For more current information, see www.diw.de/soep.
- 5.
The equation in the Justice Index is J = ln(A/C), see Jasso (1978).
- 6.
Nor were there any significant differences between persons in employment and those not (pensioners or unemployed), men or women, young or old people (not cited in Table 55.2).
- 7.
The German working group of the International Social Justice Project (ISJP) has been headed since 1991 by Bernd Wegener at the Social Science Institute, Humboldt University, Berlin (www.isjp.de). See Kluegel et al. (1995).
- 8.
Nevertheless, pay to management board members has literally shot up in some companies traded on the stock market in the last 10 years compared with the average earnings of their workforce (cf. Härtel 2004).
- 9.
The average difference between the two groups is significantly on the 5% level. More exact analyses show that the average difference among those who say their earnings are unjust is mainly due to blue-collar workers in the West. For white-collar workers and officials in the East, the gap between actual earnings and what they feel would be just is, on average, no greater than in the West.
- 10.
- 11.
- 12.
There is a conflict of aims, particularly between the levels of justice in regard to performance and need (cf. Becker and Hauser 2004).
- 13.
Only about one fifth of the population has confidence in big business enterprises (cf. Schupp and Wagner 2004).
- 14.
See also the decisions on developing the German Corporate Governance Code and the intention to introduce legislation (Zypries 2004: 3–4).
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Liebig, S., Schupp, J., Wagner, G.G. (2013). Justice of Wages in Germany and Abroad? An Empirical Investigation. In: Merle, JC. (eds) Spheres of Global Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5998-5_55
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