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CEO presence on the compensation committee: a puzzle

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  • Boyle, Glenn
  • Roberts, Helen

Abstract

The managerial power view of executive compensation suggests that CEO membership of the compensation committee is an open invitation to rent extraction by self-serving executives. However, using data from New Zealand – where CEO compensation committee membership was relatively common until quite recently – we find that annual pay increments for CEOs with this apparent advantage averaged four percentage points less than those enjoyed by other CEOs during the 1998–2005 period. This puzzling result cannot be explained by omitted governance variables, risk-return tradeoff considerations, selection bias, or compensation mis-measurement. We find some weak evidence suggesting it may be consistent with a form of optimal contracting.

Suggested Citation

  • Boyle, Glenn & Roberts, Helen, 2013. "CEO presence on the compensation committee: a puzzle," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 16-26.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jebusi:v:70:y:2013:i:c:p:16-26
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeconbus.2012.08.002
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Warwick Anderson & Nalinaksha Bhattacharyya & Cameron Morrill & Helen Roberts, 2020. "Dividend payout and executive compensation: theory and evidence from New Zealand," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 1007-1022, April.
    3. Chapple, Larelle & Chen, Brandon & Suleman, Tahir & Truong, Thu Phuong, 2021. "Stock trading behaviour and firm performance: Do CEO equity-based compensation and block ownership matter?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Li, Michelle & Roberts, Helen, 2017. "Director and CEO pay reciprocity and CEO board membership," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 54-65.
    5. James Walker & Peder Greve & Geoff Wood & Peter Miskell, 2019. "Because you're worth it? Determinants of Vice Chancellor pay in the UK," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5-6), pages 450-467, November.
    6. Stacey Beaumont & Raluca Ratiu & David Reeb & Glenn Boyle & Philip Brown & Alexander Szimayer & Raymond Silva Rosa & David Hillier & Patrick McColgan & Athanasios Tsekeris & Bryan Howieson & Zoltan Ma, 2016. "Comments on Shan and Walter: ‘Towards a Set of Design Principles for Executive Compensation Contracts’," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 52(4), pages 685-771, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Compensation committee; CEO remuneration;

    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

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