Program Overview
Friday, May 12, 2006            11:00 - 12:30
Panel on Rewards for High Public Office in Central and Eastern Europe
Room	White hall I
Related to	Panel on Rewards for High Public Office in CEE
Chair:	B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Co-chair:	Marleen Brans, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Panelists: B. Guy Peters, University of Pittsburgh, USA László Vass, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling, Nottingham, UK Nenad Rava, UNDP, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro   In order to govern effectively, the public sector must be able to attract a sufficient number of well-qualified people to fill positions in elective offices, the civil service, and the judiciary. The rewards of high public office--salary, perquisites and more intangible rewards--play a significant role in attracting those employees. That simple statement, however, masks a great deal of complexity in the ways in which governments choose to reward the occupants of high public office. For example, is a high salary really a major incentive for people aspiring to public office, or are there other, more important, factors in recruitment and retention? What role do less tangible benefits of office, such as prestige, security, etc.--play in taking positions in the public sector? How important are immediate benefits versus long-term income and benefits, such as a good pension or continuing perquisites?