Although compensation contracts rarely include cash holdings as a factor, we show that high cash holdings can be used by executives in the ex post bargaining over compensation. An increase of cash holdings by 10% of assets corresponds to about $2.7 million in additional CEO total compensation....

If managers bargain with workers over wage before choosing output in a Cournot duopoly, owners face two conflicting interests in designing managerial incentives: one for profit orientation to reduce wage, and the other for sales orientation to gain in output competition. The net effect depends...

Earnings within a firm usually increase with job rank. Earnings across firms usually increase with firm size. An assignment model addresses these facts. People are assigned to firms and to jobs within these firms by their managerial talent. In equilibrium, higher quality managers are assigned...