We find that the presence of independent directors who are blockholders (IDBs) in firms promotes better CEO contracting and monitoring, and higher firm valuation. Using a panel of about 11,500 firm-years with a unique, hand-collected dataset on IDB-identity and a novel instrument, we find that...

In this paper, we develop and test a theory on the effect of institutional investor heterogeneity on CEO pay. Our theory predicts that institutional investors' incentives and capabilities to monitor CEO pay are determined by the fiduciary responsibilities, conflicts of interest, and information...

We analyze 228 executive compensation contracts voluntarily disclosed by Chinese listed firms and find that central-government-controlled companies disclose more information in executive compensation contracts than local-government-controlled and non-government-controlled companies. Cash-based...

This study provides new evidence on the relation between institutional ownership and the equity incentives provided to CEOs by their portfolio holdings of stock and stock options. We show that when firms' CEOs have abnormally high equity incentives, higher institutional ownership is associated...

This paper studies the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on managerial compensation horizon under common ownership. We find that the predominant governance approach under common ownership is the threat of exit, which inadvertently exacerbates managerial myopia. Hence, common owners tend...

This paper studies how managerial compensation is shaped by the risk preference of shareholders. Firms with a large ownership held by "dual holders'' -- institutional investors that simultaneously hold equity and bonds of the company -- choose a less risk-inducing compensation structure....

In this paper we describe the important features of executive compensation in the US from 1993 to 2006. Some confirm what has been found for earlier periods and some are novel. Notable facts are that: the compensation distribution is highly skewed; each year, a sizeable fraction of chief...

Remuneration consultants are an integral part of the process of determining executive pay in large listed companies. This paper discusses the role of the consultants in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada, analyses their industry and the factors currently affecting it, and summarizes...