Rewards at the Top: A Comparative Study of High Public Office (SAGE Modern Politics series)

How are those "at the top" in public life rewarded? In a democracy, this is a particularly vexing question. Voters may be reluctant to approve high salaries for politicians, bureaucrats, and judges, yet if public service is too poorly rewarded, a political system is likely to become corrupt, inefficient, or turn into a de facto aristocracy. The contributors to this challenging volume examine such key issues as how much are high public officials paid in different countries, who decides on the levels of reward for public servants, how do reward structures interact with career patterns, how are variations between countries to be accounted for, and do richer nations reward their public servants better than poorer nations? Rewards at the Top provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of this important topic and makes for fascinating reading for anyone with an interest in the structuring of high public office.