Remuneration: it's payback time

Disgruntled taxpayers and their political representatives are set on revenge, making bankers pay for their mistakes through compensation taxes and restrictions. But a more constructive approach will be needed to sustainably reform such a complex and convoluted system

Psychologists have long been occupied by attempts to modify damaging human behaviour. It is a natural impulse to punish bad behaviour, but as a means of prevention, the stick can be a blunt instrument. As the boffins learned long ago, reducing recidivism and the natural desire to punish wrongdoing require different approaches. Fast forward a century from Pavlov’s dog to the global financial crisis, and we find authorities across Europe and beyond are keen to rap the knuckles of culprits. Never