Skip to main content

Executive Compensation

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics
  • 63 Accesses

Abstract

Chief executive officer (CEO) compensation is defined as the sum of base pay, bonuses, stock grants, stock options, other forms of compensation and benefits. Inflation-adjusted, median total CEO compensation in the United States almost tripled between 1992 and 2000, with grants of stock options evolving to be the largest component of compensation. This article presents the arguments for and against this level and composition of CEO compensation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 6,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 8,499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Abowd, J., and M. Bognanno. 1995. International differences in executive and managerial compensation. In Differences and changes in wage structures, ed. R. Freeman and L. Katz. Chicago: National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER)/University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bebchuk, L.A., and J. Fried. 2003. Executive compensation as an agency problem. Journal of Economic Perspectives 17: 71–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebchuk, L.A., and Y. Grinstein. 2005. The growth of executive pay. Oxford Review of Economics Policy 21: 283–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bebchuk, L.A., J. Fried, and D. Walker. 2002. Managerial power and rent extraction in the design of executive compensation. University of Chicago Law Review 69: 751–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conyon, M., and K.J. Murphy. 2000. The prince and the pauper? CEO pay in the United States and the United Kingdom. Economic Journal 110: 640–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crystal, G. 1991. In search of excess: The overcompensation of the American executive. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dow, J., and C. Raposo. 2005. CEO compensation, change, and corporate strategy. Journal of Finance 60: 2701–2727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Efendi, J., A. Srivastava, and E. Swanson. 2007. Why do corporate managers misstate financial statements? The role of option compensation and other factors. Journal of Financial Economics 85: 667–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabaix, X., and A. Landier. 2008. Why has CEO pay increased so much? Quarterly Journal of Economics 123: 49–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giannetti, M. 2009. Serial CEO incentives and the shape of managerial contracts. ECGI – Finance Working Paper No. 183/2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, B., and J. Liebman. 1998. Are CEOs really paid like bureaucrats? Quarterly Journal of Economics 113: 653–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, B.J., and K.J. Murphy. 2003. The trouble with stock options. Journal of Economic Perspectives 17: 49–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holden, R. 2005. The original management incentive schemes. Journal of Economic Perspectives 19: 135–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen, M.C., and K.J. Murphy. 1990. CEO incentives: It’s not how much you pay, but how. Harvard Business Review 3: 138–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavalle, L. 2001. Commentary: Undermining pay for performance. Business Week 15: 70–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazear, E.P. 1989. Pay equality and industrial politics. Journal of Political Economy 97: 561–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lazear, E.P., and S. Rosen. 1981. Rank-order tournaments as optimum labor contracts. Journal of Political Economy 89: 841–864.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, K.J. 1999. Executive compensation. In Handbook of labor economics, vol. 3, 1st ed, ed. O. Ashenfelter and D. Card, 2485–2563. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, K.J. 2002. Explaining executive compensations: Managerial power versus the perceived cost of stock options. University of Chicago Law Review 69: 847–869.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, K., and J. Zabojnik. 2004. CEO pay and appointments: A market-based explanation for recent trends. American Economic Review 94: 192–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozerturk, S. 2006. Hedge markets for executive and corporate agency. CORE Discussion Paper no. 2006/9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tervio, M. 2003. The difference that CEOs make: An assignment model approach. Mimeo: University of California, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Copyright information

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Bognanno, M.L. (2018). Executive Compensation. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95189-5_2921

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics