This paper examines the effect of hierarchical pay structures on firm value in firms where CEOs are not the highest paid members of the top management teams. We find that the difference in pay between CEO and VPs benefits firm value only when CEO is the highest paid member of the top management...

I examine CEO compensation in outsourcing firms, using a new database of purchase obligations from firm 10-Ks. I find that the intensity of outsourcing can significantly explain the variations in CEO compensation; the more the firms do outsourcing, the more they pay to their CEOs. Outsourcing...

We study an extension of a two-period inventory management problem with positively correlated demands in which the manager's compensation is partially based on an external, market-based assessment of the firm's value. As typically the "real'' demand is only observed internally in the firm, the...

This paper surveys the recent literature on CEO compensation. The rapid rise in CEO pay over the past 30 years has sparked an intense debate about the nature of the pay-setting process. Many view the high level of CEO compensation as the result of powerful managers setting their own pay. Others...

A first difference econometric method is employed to assess the incentives created by contracts. Data from quarterbacks in the NFL is used to identify whether shirking occurs after significant salary increases. We find that a QB's rating decreases, interceptions become more frequent while...

We take advantage of comprehensive panel data available as a result of the 2006 SEC disclosure rules on relative performance evaluation (RPE) to (i) better understand how firms choose performance peer groups used in CEO RPE contracts and (ii) to investigate the causal impact of mandatory...

We examine the effect of competition shocks induced by major industry-level tariff cuts on forced CEO turnover. Both the likelihood of forced CEO turnover and its sensitivity to performance increase, particularly for firms with low productivity and high default risk. While CEO's incentive pay...

This paper explores five interpretations of “pay for performance”, presents a practical way to measure pay for performance and shows the extent of pay for performance at S&P 1500 companies. The paper argues that pay for performance has three dimensions: the sensitivity of relative pay to...

This paper uses historical data on relative pay and relative performance to quantify three dimensions of pay for performance: pay leverage (a measure of incentive strength), pay alignment (a measure of correlation) and the pay premium at peer group average performance (a measure of performance...

Influenced by their compensation plans, CEOs make their own luck through decisions that affect future firm risk. After adopting a relative performance evaluation (RPE) plan, total and idiosyncratic risk are higher, and the correlation between firm and industry performance is lower. The opposite...