The Extreme Discomfort of Sharing Salary Information
Two economists estimate how much people would pay to learn what their co-workers earn without having to inquire themselves.
Most Americans who have jobs, according to a report from the employer-review website Glassdoor, “wish they had a better understanding of what fair pay is for their position and skill set at their company.” That is somewhat strange, given that they could gain a better understanding by just asking around.
But it is also not strange, given the discomfort that so often accompanies discussing compensation with one’s co-workers. Recently, two economists , in the hope that it might reveal something about how pay discrepancies develop, and because economists like to quantify things that haven’t been
