Kevin J. Murphy

Corporate performance and managerial remuneration: An empirical analysis

Abstract Economic theories of efficient compensation predict a positive relationship between executive pay and corporate performance, and yet efforts to document this relationship have been largely unsuccessful. In this paper, we argue that previous cross-sectional studies have omitted important variables which seriously bias their results. Using data that focus on individual executives over time, we find that executive compensation is strongly positively related to corporate performance as measured by shareholder return and growth in firm sales. The results are robust to the stock market performance measure utilized.

Optimal Incentive Contracts in the Presence of Career Concerns: Theory and Evidence

This paper studies optimal incentive contracts when workers have career concerns--concerns about the effects of current performance on future compensation. We show that the optimal compensation contract optimizes total incentives: the combination of the implicit incentives from career concerns and the explicit incentives from the compensation contract. Thus the explicit incentives from the optimal compensation contract should be strongest for workers close to retirement because career concerns are weakest for these workers. We find empirical support for this prediction in the relation between chief executive compensation and stock market performance.

Financial performance surrounding CEO turnover

Abstract We document the behavior of a variety of financial variables surrounding CEO departures, and estimate the extent to which changes in potentially discretionary variables are explained by poor economic performance rather than direct managerial discretion. We conclude that turnover-related changes in R&D, advertising, capital expenditures, and accounting accruals are due mostly to poor performance. To the extent that outgoing or incoming managers exercise discretion over these variables, the discretion appears to be limited to firms where the CEOs departure is preceded by poor performance. We find no evidence of managerial discretion in strongly performing firms where the CEO retires as part of the normal succession process.

The Prince and the Pauper? CEO Pay in the United States and United Kingdom

We document differences in CEO pay and incentives in the United States and the United Kingdom for 1997. After controlling for size, sector and other firm and executive characteristics, CEOs in the US earn 45% higher cash compensation and 190% higher total compensation. The calculated effective ownership percentage in the US implies that the median CEO receives 1.48% of any increase in shareholder wealth compared to 0.25% in the UK The differences, can be largely attributed to greater share option awards in the US arising from, institutional and cultural differences between the two countries.

Incentives, learning, and compensation: a theoretical and empirical investigation of managerial labor contracts

This article analyzes properties and implications of multiperiod managerial labor contracts under two alternative hypotheses: incentives, in which productivity depends on unobservable effort, and learning, in which ability is unknown and is revealed over time. Shared and conflicting implications of these competing models are developed in terms of experience-earnings profiles and the relation between compensation and performance. I empirically examine these theoretical results by using a longitudinal sample of 1,488 chief executive officers followed from 1974-1985. The data yield mixed evidence that generally supports the learning hypothesis over the incentive hypothesis.

Chapter 38 Executive compensation

Abstract This chapter summarizes the empirical and theoretical research on executive compensation and provides a comprehensive and up-to-date description of pay practices (and trends in pay practices) for chief executive officers (CEOs). Topics discussed include the level and structure of CEO pay (including detailed analyses of annual bonus plans, executive stock options, and option valuation), international pay differences, the pay-setting process, the relation between CEO pay and firm performance (“pay-performance sensitivities”), the relation between sensitivities and subsequent firm performance, relative performance evaluation, executive turnover, and the politics of CEO pay.

Stock-based Pay in New Economy Firms

Ittner, Lambert, and Larcker (J. Accounting Economics (2003)) present compelling evidence that new economy firms rely more on stock-based compensation than do old economy firms, based on 1998 and 1999 data from a proprietary sample of companies. I complement the ILL results by analyzing data over a longer time period (1992-2001) and, more importantly, document the effect of the 2000 market crash on stock-based pay in new economy firms. Finally, I offer evidence supporting the conjecture that differences in pay practices between new and old economy firms reflect accounting considerations, perceived costs, and competitive inertia.

Executive Compensation: Where We Are, and How We Got There

In this study, I summarize the current state of executive compensation, discuss measurement and incentive issues, document recent trends in executive pay in both U.S. and international firms, and analyze the evolution of executive pay over the past century. Most recent analyses of executive compensation have focused on efficient-contracting or managerial-power rationales for pay, while ignoring or downplaying the causes and consequences of disclosure requirements, tax policies, accounting rules, legislation, and the general political climate. A major theme of this study is that government intervention has been both a response to and a major driver of time trends in executive compensation over the past century, and that any explanation for pay that ignores political factors is critically incomplete.

Incentives, downsizing, and value creation at General Dynamics

In 1991, defense contractor General Dynamics engaged a new management team which adopted an explicit corporate objective of creating shareholder value. The company tied executive compensation to shareholder wealth creation, and subsequently implemented a strategy that included downsizing, restructuring, and exit. Paying large executive cash bonuses amid layoffs ignited controversy. However, by 1993 shareholders realized gains approaching

Are U.S. CEOs Paid More? New International Evidence

4.5 billion, representing a dividend-reinvested return of 553%. The study shows how incentives assist in shaping strategy, illustrates the political costs and economic benefits of downsizing and demonstrates that even firms in declining industries have substantial opportunities for value creation.