Pay Cuts for the Boss: Executive Compensation in the 1940s
研究了1940年代246家公司高管薪酬下降的原因，发现政府管制影响有限，而企业规模回报下降和工会力量增强是主要因素，但1946年后相对薪酬持续下降的原因尚不明确。
Executive pay fell during the 1940s, marking the last notable decrease in the past 70 years. We study this decline using a new panel data set on the remuneration of top executives in 246 firms. Government regulation—including explicit salary restrictions and taxation—had, at best, a modest effect on executive pay. By contrast, a decline in the returns to firm size and an increase in the power of labor unions contributed greatly to the reduction in executive compensation relative to other workers’ earnings from 1940 to 1946. The continued decrease in relative executive pay remains largely unexplained.