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Pay inequalities and managerial turnover

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  • Kale, Jayant R.
  • Reis, Ebru
  • Venkateswaran, Anand

Abstract

We study how pay inequalities affect (i) a firm's rate of voluntary non-CEO manager (VP) VP resignations, and (ii) the likelihood that an individual VP will voluntarily resign. We consider pay inequalities that a VP faces relative to (i) the CEO in her own firm, (ii) other VPs in the firm, and (iii) VPs in benchmark firms. We use a unique hand-collected dataset of over 1000 voluntary managerial resignations and find that pay inequality is an important determinant of managerial turnover. We find that managers are more likely to resign when their pay relative to their peers in the firm and outside the firm is lower; and firms with greater levels of pay inequality and greater pay inequality relative to benchmark firms experience higher VP turnover.

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  • Kale, Jayant R. & Reis, Ebru & Venkateswaran, Anand, 2014. "Pay inequalities and managerial turnover," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 21-39.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:empfin:v:27:y:2014:i:c:p:21-39
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jempfin.2013.11.002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Managerial incentives; Tournaments; Executive compensation; Turnover;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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