Speculative industries exploit novel technologies subject to two risks. First, there is uncertainty about the fundamental value of the innovation: is it strong or fragile? Second, it is difficult to monitor managers, which creates moral hazard. Because of moral hazard, managers earn agency rents...

This article makes several observations on the extent of executive compensation and the forms it takes, relating these to the recent literature. I argue that the magnitude of executive compensation seems excessive in light of a wide range of academic studies. I then propose specific regulatory...

This article reviews the history of executive compensation regulation in America and surveys the literature on the effects of these policies. CEOs are almost exclusively in the top 1% of the pay distribution, and regulation of their pay is seen as a well-targeted way of reducing income...

In recent years, a large academic debate has tried to explain the rapid rise in CEO pay experienced over the past three decades. In this article, I review the main proposed theories, which span views of compensation as the result of a competitive labor market for executives to theories based on...