Here are my random thoughts about the reasons (not in a specific order): 1. they are not part of a software company, say, not generating revenue directly, so t

Here are my random thoughts about the reasons (not in a specific order): 1. they are not part of a software company, say, not generating revenue directly, so they are not high on the payroll list 2. the pay is based on the overall performance of the whole development team, so the great programmers' productivity got mitigated by the worse ones' 3. high productivity may mean technologically superior products, however, superior products don't necessarily lead to market success 4. if there is a function: profit = f (productivity), it may be more likely a logarithmic one, rather than linear, e.g., there is a diminishing return on productivity 5. even if it's linear, the owners won't pay accordingly, because of the law of supply and demand 5a. own yourself when you have a chance, if you think you're great hackers