British government relying too heavily on business to make society fairer
Barnali Choudhury, UCL and Martin Petrin, UCL The UK is introducing new legislation t hat will require companies to publish the ratio of what they pay their CEO compared to the average worker’s salary. The move follows a number of corporate governance reforms introduced by the government over the last year and a half as part of an effort to build a fairer economy . But if the government was truly committed to building a fairer economy, it would not rely primarily on companies to do its work for it. When Theresa May first became prime minister, she vowed to reform the UK’s economy to ensure that it would work for everyone . Reforming the way that companies operate is a key part of this vision. According to May, corporate governance mechanisms are the tools by which these responsibilities should be imposed. May is not alone in her views on the usefulness of corporate governance mechanisms to promote public responsibilities. Countries around the world, fro...