Economics Professors Criticize Supplementary Income of Members of the German Bundestag
Many German economists believe that the supplementary income of members of the Bundestag poses a problem for the quality of the parliamentarians’ work; 68 percent of participants in the ifo and FAZ Economists Panel selected this answer. In individual responses, the economics professors at German-speaking universities pointed out that supplementary income could lead to conflicts of interest. At the same time, 62 percent of those surveyed considered the parliamentarians’ salary of around EUR 10,000 per month to be appropriate. This will decrease by 0.7 percent on July 1.
“Between 2009 and 2013, members of parliament who earned a lot on the side were less active in responding to speeches, questioning the government, and pursuing group initiatives. However, these MPs were not absent from roll-call votes particularly often, nor did they make fewer speeches,” says Niklas Potrafke, Director of the ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy, who is researching supplementary incomes. “That means supplementary incomes didn’t have a huge effect on the political activities of members of the Bundestag in that period.” Potrafke is now evaluating data for the 2013–2017 legislative period.
A decision to increase parliamentary pay would have no effect, according to 57 percent of economists. Only just under one-fifth expect such a move would improve things “somewhat.”
However, many economists are bothered by the process for determining compensation. Currently, MPs decide their own salaries based on a recommendation from the president of the Bundestag. Among the items serving as a benchmark for this are the salaries of federal judges. Of the professors surveyed, 53 percent would like to see an independent body determine parliamentarians’ compensation.
Just over one-quarter – 26 percent – of panel participants believe that members of the Bundestag should decide for themselves how much they earn, with restrictions such as using average salary or civil servant pay as reference points.
The Economists Panel is a regular survey of economists organized by the ifo Institute together with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. This time 146 professors took part.
