We conducted a lab experiment with 253 participants to examine how constraints on bonus akin to bonus regulations, such as bonus cap and malus, could affect individuals' risk-taking in the presence of relative performance pay. Participants took greater risks when bonus was linked to investment...

We conducted a lab experiment to examine how bonus caps and malus affect individuals' choices of risk and effort. We find that a bonus structure that rewards individuals proportionally to realised investment returns, but does not penalise negative returns, encourages risk-taking; while a bonus...