Number wise: Hike in MLA salaries outstripped growth in common man's income

Delhi lawmakers just gave themselves a salary hike, joining counterparts in widening the gap with their voters' income

In 2013, researchers at Columbia University, Princeton and DONG Energy reached an interesting conclusion. They found that raising politicians’ salaries did not necessarily improve governance. It may even have the opposite effect, according to the research published in Chicago Booth Review.

The researchers studied the impact of salary revisions for the European Union’s members of parliament and concluded that salary hikes had an insignificant effect on work and attendance. There are other studies, however, that conclude the opposite.

Such hikes make headlines because politicians, and not market forces, determine their salaries. In India, the latest to upgrade are Delhi