The efficiency premium in executive compensation

Lorán Chollete, Ching-Chih Lu, Irina Merkurieva

    Research output: Working paper

    Abstract

    We present a model linking corporate efficiency and executive pay, predicting that more efficient firms offer higher compensation to attract top talent. Since these firms are also larger, it provides a new perspective on the joint distribution of firm size and CEO pay. Using stochastic frontier analysis, we compute efficiency scores for US public firms and identify an efficiency premium of 2.8%. Despite the positive correlation between efficiency and executive pay, less efficient firms offer compensation that appears high for their CEO talent levels. We conclude that inefficiency is associated with overpayment, whereas more efficient firms demonstrate better compensation management.
    Original languageEnglish
    Place of PublicationOnline
    PublisherSSRN
    Number of pages60
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 8 Dec 2022

    Publication series

    NameS&P Global Market Intelligence Research Paper Series

    Keywords

    • Effective compensation
    • Corporate efficiency
    • Executive-firm matching
    • Stochastic frontier
    • Efficiency premium

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