In Europe, like the U.S., the debate over executive compensation is raging. Many top managers have gotten the axe and there’s been considerable pressure to limit pay packages for companies that have received bailout money. Even then, pay packages in Europe are only a fraction of what America‘s top CEOs receive.

Clas Wihlborg is a professor of international business at Chapman University in Orange, California. He recently co-edited a new book called Markets and Compensation for Executives in Europe.