Executive wages in America : examining the impact of different factors on wages

Abstract

The United States has the largest economy in the world. This economy includes financial markets where all publicly traded companies in the US operate. Within these financial markets, the country's largest 500 companies exist. Research shows that the average CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes approximately 200 times the pay of an average worker for these companies. As a young woman in business, and potential future CEO, I plan to examine a few key factors that I believe impact CEO pay in America. I believe that being female has a negative impact on wages, and that CEO pay depends heavily on company performance. I will be using data regarding company performance and demographics of CEOs of some of the United States' largest companies to perform a regression analysis in order to determine the likelihood that these factors have an impact on CEO pay.