Abstract

We argue that the root cause behind the recent corporate scandals associated with CEO pay is the technology bubble of the latter half of the 1990s. Far from rejecting the optimal incentive contracting theory of executive compensation, the recent evidence on executive pay can be reconciled with classical agency theory once one expands the framework to allow for speculative stock markets.

Authors
Patrick Bolton, Jose Scheinkman, and Wei Xiong
Format
Working Paper
Publication Date

Full Citation

Bolton, Patrick, Jose Scheinkman, and Wei Xiong
. Pay for Short-Term Performance: Executive Compensation in Speculative Markets. January 01, 2004.