Whether CEOs and other senior executives are too highly compensated is one of the most publicized and divisive issues in corporate governance. In this paper, we address this question not by asking whether executives are paid more than the value they create, but by asking whether firms could pay...

Prodded by economists in the 1970s, corporate directors began adding stock options and bonuses to the already-generous salaries of CEOs with hopes of boosting their companies' fortunes. Guided by largely unproven assumptions, this trend continues today. So what are companies getting in return...

Whether CEOs and other senior executives are too highly compensated is one of the most publicized and divisive issues in corporate governance. In this paper, we address this question not by asking whether executives are paid more than the value they create, but by asking whether firms could pay...

The corporate governance debate has focused recently on executive compensation. While defenders of the status quo assert that CEO compensation - and corporate governance generally - is efficient, critics contend that boards have been captured by powerful CEOs who demand excessive pay...