Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to solve the optimal managerial compensation problem when shareholders are either naïvely optimistic or rational. Design/methodology/approach –The paper uses applied game theory to derive the optimal CEO compensation package with over optimistic...

This paper studies the factors that were associated with a bank's early exit from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2009. Executive pay restrictions were often a rationale cited for early TARP exit, and high levels of CEO pay in 2008 were associated with banks being significantly more...

Do entrepreneurs work less or harder when they borrow more? This article tests how entrepreneurial effort is affected by the firm's financing choice. In line with the typical agency theory prediction, entrepreneurial effort is negatively related to the magnitude of the equity financing....

Purpose – This paper seeks to evaluate the cost of repriceable options, and to investigate whether repriceable employee stock options (ESOs) cost more than standard ESOs in providing incentives to employees. Design/methodology/approach – This paper develops an intensity-based model,...

This paper develops an agency model to analyze the optimality of executive stock option compensation in the presence of information manipulation. The analyses show that although information manipulation is positively related to the size of option compensation, the relative size of...

This paper studies the impact of female executives on the performance and risk taking of US banks. With a sample of US banks from 2002 to 2010, we find that the inclusion of female executives increases bank performance after addressing endogeneity and reverse causality issues. We also provide...

In some cases, the incentives of the manager will affect the behavior of the firm’s employees. A manager with low-powered incentives will discourage employees from engaging in destructive rent-seeking activities. Union members will need to cooperate with this poorly compensated manager if the...

The Legacy Loans Program (LLP) is an elaborate way of slicing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's (FDIC's) receivership assets. At best, the financial structure is irrelevant to the FDIC's expected long-run recovery rates. Yet, it may boost short-term prices by creating bond insurance...

Purpose – This paper aims to derive insights about optimal managerial compensation and firm capital structure in unionized firms. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses applied game theory to address problems of CEO motivation in companies with unionized workforces. Findings –...