Except that maybe some people are motivated by things other than money. Like doing a job that actually helps people.
Grumm, so thats a justification for paying them more than the job is 'worth'?
Try Nursing. No free market exists because the rates of pay are directly and indirectly set by quangos. there is a significant shortage of nurses. However wages cannot rise to encourage more applicants. Result - staff shortages
TJ - that sounds to me like a vindication of free market economics, people are being paid less than they are 'worth' - and I'd seriously question whether the same wage restriction applies to management and administration recruitment within the NHS (ie, is there a shortage of applications for those posts?)
Also, are there regional variations in that? ie, is it harder to recruit in some areas (eg. the south east) due to living costs? - in which case one would think that staff are being underpaid in one area, and more than likely overpaid in another, due to a national collective bargaining agreement - well done the unions...