Yes, in theory. But it's too hard to tell. I'd pay slightly more, in the hopes that the competition would generally be too dumb to give them even a slight bonus

Yes, in theory. But it's too hard to tell. I'd pay slightly more, in the hopes that the competition would generally be too dumb to give them even a slight bonus. And if all the smart people think like I do (and there's enough dumb managers to keep productivity-linked pay from actually happening), that's an even bigger reason. Sorry if that's not an encouraging answer.