This paper analyzes an important form of "stealth compensation" provided to managers of public companies. We show how …

instrument for addressing the agency problem between managers and shareholders but also as part of the agency problem itself … managers. As a result, managers wield substantial influence over their own pay arrangements, and they have an interest in … reducing the saliency of the amount of their pay and the extent to which that pay is de-coupled from managers' performance. We …

factors that drive dividend and share repurchase policies. We find that managers are very reluctant to cut dividends, that … repurchases is viewed by managers as being more flexible than using dividends, permitting a better opportunity to optimize … investment. Managers like to repurchase shares when they feel their stock is undervalued and in an effort to affect EPS. Dividend …