During most MBA programs, business school students read numerous case studies, evaluating the strategies of many different kinds of companies, analyzing the cost of bringing new product lines to market and novel methods to cut expenses. You would think that, after all that training, MBA grads would be the perfect candidates to halt the runaway growth of CEO pay. But, in an ironic twist, could the rising number of MBAs be pushing the perceived value of a CEO ever higher?
持有MBA学位的人越来越多，是商界极少数能与高管薪酬惊人增长相媲美的趋势之一。最新数据显示，2011 – 2012届毕业生中，MBA学生占硕士毕业生总人数的25%，共有191,571名学生获得该学位。教育与计算机科学/工程专业的硕士毕业生人数分列第二和第三位，分别为178,062和66,014人。
The MBA degree’s growth in popularity is one of the few trends in the business world that matches the extraordinary growth in executive pay. According to the most recent data, from the 2011-2012 graduating class, MBA students accounted for 25% of the total master’s handed out, with 191,571 students receiving the degree. Education and computer science/engineering students came in second and third, with 178,062 and 66,014 degree recipients, respectively.
近几年攻读MBA学位的人数持续增加。事实上，从1970年以来，各大院校的MBA毕业生数量增加了623%；同期教育硕士学位的增长幅度为103%。
The MBA has grown in popularity for years. In fact, the number of MBAs issued has jumped 623% since 1970; education master’s degrees increased 103% during that time.
经济政策研究院（Economic Policy Institute）的数据显示，CEO薪酬开始指数级增长的时间相对较晚——始于上世纪90年代。

As the MBA-toting population has increased in general, a growing share of corporate board members and CEOs have the degree on their resumes. It makes sense. Companies want to have the best talent and, presumably, the best will have focused on how to sustain or grow a business and be willing to make tough choices to do so, which is what students learn during an MBA program.

About 40% of S&P 500 CEOs have an MBA, in any given year. It is, by far, the degree with the most representation among such executives. Between 25% and 30% of S&P 500 CEOs have another type of advanced degree, like a PhD or law degree.

Executive search firm Spencer Stuart found that 61% of new directors were current or retired chairs, presidents, or CEOs. Another 13% were active or retired executives and 20% were bankers, investors or CFOs. It’s safe to assume that a sizable portion of these executives have MBAs or other advanced degrees.

Such similarities among large company executives and board members raises concerns about diversity. If many of these people have a very similar educational background, what’s the likelihood that there will be a wide range of opinions when it comes time to talk executive pay and corporate strategy?

There’s little research on the impact of the number of MBAs in the boardroom, but a growing amount of evidence suggests that a lack of diversity can hurt a company. In a study currently undergoing peer review, researchers found a significant link between board diversity and willingness to take on risk.

“We found that the more diverse the board, the less likely [a company is willing] to take risk,” said Ya Wen Yang, assistant professor of accounting at the Wake Forest University school of business and a co-author of the study in question. “If you want to curb excessive risk taking, then add diversity to the board.”

Yang adds that there’s early evidence that diverse boards are more willing to provide investors with dividends or give money back to shareholders.

In this case, diversity was taken to mean differences in race, age, professional experience, and tenure. The researchers did not specifically examine board members’ educational background.

With all of these MBA students entering the workforce, why hasn’t the cost of the talent dropped?

Executives and board members will tell you that they view their CEO as extraordinarily skilled and nearly impossible to replicate. A degree doesn’t signify that level of talent. And they may be right, to a point. But at some level, as more talent becomes available, the amount of extraordinary talent on offer should increase. There may be an outlier or two of otherworldly talent—you could use the example of Steve Jobs (no MBA) in the CEO world—but for the most part, there will be more great talent to select from, which should cause a decrease in the salaries those people command.

CEO pay really started to rise in the 1990s. Was there a sudden drop in talent at that time, leading to a price increase for a quality CEOs? Did MBA programs stop producing quality graduates? I doubt that many alumni of America’s prestigious business schools would agree.
随着MBA的人数增加，越来越多的公司董事会成员和CEO们都拥有这个学位。这是有道理的。公司希望获得最优秀的人才，认为他们会专注于如何维持或发展一家公司，并且为了实现这个目标愿意做出艰难的选择，而这些正是MBA们学过的内容。

在任何一年，标准普尔500公司拥有MBA学位的CEO比例都在40%左右。MBA是CEO当中拥有比例最高的学位。25%至30%的标准普尔500公司CEO拥有其他高级学位，如博士学位或法律学位。

猎头公司史宾沙（Spencer Stuart）发现，61%的新任董事是现任或已退休的董事长、总裁或CEO。另外13%为现任或已退休的高管，20%为银行家、投资者或首席财务官(CFO)。所以，我们可以肯定地说，这些高管中有相当大一部分拥有MBA学位或其他高级学位。

大公司高管与董事会成员之间的相似性，引发了人们对于多元化的担忧。既然这么多人都有非常类似的教育背景，那么在协商高管薪酬和公司战略的时候，出现不同意见的可能性又能有多大呢？

很少有人研究董事会中MBA学位持有者比例的影响，但越来越多的证据显示，缺乏多样性会给公司造成伤害。一项正在接受同行评议的一项研究发现，董事会多元化与是否愿意接受风险之间存在明显的联系。

该项研究的联合负责人、维克森林大学（Wake Forest University）商学院会计学副教授杨亚文（音译）表示：“我们发现，董事会越多元化，公司愿意冒险的可能性就越低。若想控制过度风险行为，就应该提高董事会的多元化程度。”
杨补充道，此前的证据证明，多元化的董事会更愿意为投资者提供股息，或者向投资者返还更多现金回报。

研究中所说的多元化是指不同的种族、年龄、职业经历和任期。研究人员并未对董事会成员的教育背景进行专门研究。
既然有这么多MBA学生进入职场，为什么聘用一位CEO的成本却不降反升？

高管们和董事会成员会告诉你，他们认为该CEO能力超群，是不可替代的。但随着可用人才越来越多，其中出类拔萃者也应该越来越多。可供选择的顶级人才将不断增加，理应导致此类人群的薪酬需求走低。

CEO薪酬其实是从上世纪90年代才开始上涨的。是否因为当时出色人才数量突然减少，才导致优秀CEO薪酬上涨？或者是因为MBA课程再也培养不出优秀的毕业生？我想那些久负盛名的美国商学院的毕业生们肯定不会同意这样的说法。