This paper employs a life-cycle model of consumption and saving to study risk premia in CEO compensation, and compares them to variation in observed pay levels. The model incorporates the main types of risk to income and savings that executives of public corporations typically face: option- and...

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) imposed stringent requirements on corporate executives to hold them more accountable for their management decisions. This act has ramifications for executive pay as well. This study investigates the lessening effects of SOX on the association between...

This paper investigates whether observed executive compensation contracts are designed to provide risk-taking incentives in addition to effort incentives. We develop a stylized principal-agent model that captures the interdependence between firm risk and managerial incentives. We calibrate the...