Managerial earnings: some evidence from the Portuguese hospitals

Abstract

Public organizations are primarily engaged in providing efficient and effective services to society. As part of the strategy to ensure more efficiency in an organization, the managerial salary level is a relevant variable, and therefore needs to be scientifically addressed. Using a 2009-2013 database of managers’ salaries in the Portuguese public health sector, we address its evolution throughout the financial crisis occurring in Portugal. The findings suggest that the public managers were left relatively unscathed by the salary cuts that most of the public servants had to endure during the period, due mainly to the increase in their variable earnings.