Too much, too soon, for too long: the dynamics of competitive executive compensation
File(s)
Author(s)
Chemla, Gilles
Rivera, Alejandro
Shi, Liyan
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We examine executive compensation in a general equilibrium model with dynamic moral hazard, where executives' outside options are endogenously determined by equilibrium market compensation. Firms provide incentives through compensation packages featuring deferred payments as “carrots” and termination as “sticks.” Crucially, the effectiveness of termination as an incentive device is undermined by the outside options available to executives. As individual firms fail to internalize the effect of their compensation design on these endogenous outside options, the equilibrium is generally inefficient. Compared to shareholder-value-maximizing compensation packages, executives are paid too much, too soon, and keep their jobs for too long.
Date Issued
2025-10-01
Date Acceptance
2024-09-03
Citation
The Journal of Finance, 2025, 80 (5), pp.2921-2970
ISSN
0022-1082
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
2921
End Page
2970
Journal / Book Title
The Journal of Finance
Volume
80
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). The Journal of Finance published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Finance Association. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
10.1111/jofi.13470
Publication Status
Published
Rights Embargo Date
10000-01-01
Date Publish Online
2025-07-30