CEO Incentives: It's Not How Much You Pay, But How

Publish Date: 12-04-1999

Publish Frequency:

Source: SSRN

Author(s): Michael C. Jensen Kevin J. Murphy

Type: Literature/Paper

Synopsis: Paying top executives better would eventually mean paying them more. The arrival of spring means yet another round in the national debate over executive compensation. Soon the business press will trumpet answers to the questions it asks every year: Who were the highest paid CEOs? How many executives made more than a million dollars? Who received the biggest raises? Political figures, union leaders, and consumer activists will issue now-familiar denunciations of executive salaries and urge that directors curb top-level pay in the interests of social equity and statesmanship. The critics have it wrong. There are serious problems with CEO compensation, but excessive pay is not the biggest issue. The relentless focus on how much CEOs are paid diverts public attention from the real problem--how CEOs are paid.

Public Link: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=146148

Ahead Link (paywall):

Orgs:

Edit | Back