IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/tiu/tiutis/9b8bdc5e-6425-47f5-91d7-f9f33650ce80.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The political determinants of executive compensation : Evidence from an emerging economy

Author

Listed:
  • Liang, Hao

    (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management)

  • Renneboog, Luc

    (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management)

  • Li Sun, Sunny

Abstract

In regulated economies, corporate governance mechanisms such as executive compensation are less driven by market-based forces but more subject to political influence. We study the political determinants of executive compensation for all listed Chinese firms in the context of an exogenous shock that removed market frictions in share-tradability. Under strong political constraints, state ownership reduced the managerial pay levels and increased pay-for-performance sensitivity (to asset-based benchmarks). Board independence and compensation committees do not curb managerial pay, and market-based factors do not have a significant influence. However, these effects reversed following the governance shock (removal of market frictions in share tradability).
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc & Li Sun, Sunny, 2015. "The political determinants of executive compensation : Evidence from an emerging economy," Other publications TiSEM 9b8bdc5e-6425-47f5-91d7-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    • Handle: RePEc:tiu:tiutis:9b8bdc5e-6425-47f5-91d7-f9f33650ce80
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://pure.uvt.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/77259123/1-s2.0-S1566014115000205-main.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrei Shleifer, 1998. "State versus Private Ownership," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(4), pages 133-150, Fall.
    2. Vidhi Chhaochharia & Yaniv Grinstein, 2009. "CEO Compensation and Board Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 64(1), pages 231-261, February.
    3. Kai Li & Tan Wang & Yan-Leung Cheung & Ping Jiang, 2011. "Privatization and Risk Sharing: Evidence from the Split Share Structure Reform in China," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2499-2525.
    4. Simon Johnson, 2000. "Tunneling," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(2), pages 22-27, May.
    5. Xiaping Cao & Michael Lemmon & Xiaofei Pan & Meijun Qian & Gary Tian, 2019. "Political Promotion, CEO Incentives, and the Relationship Between Pay and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 2947-2965, July.
    6. Xavier Gabaix & Augustin Landier, 2008. "Why has CEO Pay Increased So Much?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(1), pages 49-100.
    7. Edward L. Glaeser & Andrei Shleifer, 2003. "The Rise of the Regulatory State," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 41(2), pages 401-425, June.
    8. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    9. Qi Chen & Xiao Chen & Katherine Schipper & Yongxin Xu & Jian Xue, 2012. "The Sensitivity of Corporate Cash Holdings to Corporate Governance," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(12), pages 3610-3644.
    10. Lucian A. Bebchuk & Michael S. Weisbach, 2012. "The State of Corporate Governance Research," Springer Books, in: Sabri Boubaker & Bang Dang Nguyen & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance, edition 127, pages 325-346, Springer.
    11. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    12. Grinstein, Yaniv & Hribar, Paul, 2004. "CEO compensation and incentives: Evidence from M&A bonuses," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 119-143, July.
    13. Thorsten Beck & Luc Laeven, 2006. "Institution building and growth in transition economies," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 157-186, June.
    14. Chenggang Xu, 2011. "The Fundamental Institutions of China's Reforms and Development," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1076-1151, December.
    15. Paul L. Joskow & Nancy L. Rose & Catherine Wolfram, 1996. "Political Constraints on Executive Compensation: Evidence from the Electric Utility Industry," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 27(1), pages 165-182, Spring.
    16. Wang, Kun & Xiao, Xing, 2011. "Controlling shareholders' tunneling and executive compensation: Evidence from China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 89-100, January.
    17. Tor Eriksson, 2005. "Managerial pay and executive turnover in the Czech and Slovak Republics," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 13(4), pages 659-677, October.
    18. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert Vishny, 2002. "Investor Protection and Corporate Valuation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(3), pages 1147-1170, June.
    19. Hao Liang & Bing Ren & Sunny Li Sun, 2015. "An anatomy of state control in the globalization of state-owned enterprises," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 46(2), pages 223-240, February.
    20. Jeffry M. Netter & William L. Megginson, 2001. "From State to Market: A Survey of Empirical Studies on Privatization," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(2), pages 321-389, June.
    21. Marco Pagano & Paolo F. Volpin, 2005. "The Political Economy of Corporate Governance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(4), pages 1005-1030, September.
    22. Chen, Shenglan & Lin, Bingxuan & Lu, Rui & Zhang, Ting, 2015. "Controlling shareholders’ incentives and executive pay-for-performance sensitivity: Evidence from the split share structure reform in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 147-160.
    23. Eric Hilt, 2014. "History of American Corporate Governance: Law, Institutions, and Politics," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 1-21, December.
    24. repec:oup:rfinst:v:25:y::i:12:p:3610-3644 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. Demsetz, Harold & Villalonga, Belen, 2001. "Ownership structure and corporate performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 209-233, September.
    26. René M. Stulz, 2007. "The Limits of Financial Globalization," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 19(1), pages 8-15, January.
    27. Jiang, Guohua & Lee, Charles M.C. & Yue, Heng, 2010. "Tunneling through intercorporate loans: The China experience," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 1-20, October.
    28. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    29. John R. Graham & Si Li & Jiaping Qiu, 2012. "Managerial Attributes and Executive Compensation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(1), pages 144-186.
    30. Faccio, Mara & Lang, Larry H. P., 2002. "The ultimate ownership of Western European corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 365-395, September.
    31. Murphy, Kevin J., 1999. "Executive compensation," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 38, pages 2485-2563, Elsevier.
    32. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    33. Chen, Jing & Ezzamel, Mahmoud & Cai, Ziming, 2011. "Managerial power theory, tournament theory, and executive pay in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 1176-1199, September.
    34. Oskar Lange, 1936. "On the Economic Theory of Socialism," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 4(1), pages 53-71.
    35. Jones, Derek C. & Kato, Takao, 1996. "The determinants of chief executive compensation in transitional economies: Evidence from Bulgaria," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 319-336, October.
    36. Claessens, Stijn & Djankov, Simeon & Lang, Larry H. P., 2000. "The separation of ownership and control in East Asian Corporations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 81-112.
    37. Mike W. Peng & Sunny Li Sun & Lívia Markóczy, 2015. "Human Capital and CEO Compensation during Institutional Transitions," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 117-147, January.
    38. Trevor Buck & Xiaohui Liu & Rodion Skovoroda, 2008. "Top executive pay and firm performance in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 833-850, July.
    39. Jay C. Hartzell & Laura T. Starks, 2003. "Institutional Investors and Executive Compensation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2351-2374, December.
    40. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 2001. "Are CEOs Rewarded for Luck? The Ones Without Principals Are," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(3), pages 901-932.
    41. Sunny Sun & Xia Zhao & Haibin Yang, 2010. "Executive compensation in Asia: A critical review and outlook," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 775-802, December.
    42. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2005. "Institutions, ownership, and finance: the determinants of profit reinvestment among Chinese firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 117-146, July.
    43. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    44. Gallego, Francisco & Larrain, Borja, 2012. "CEO compensation and large shareholders: Evidence from emerging markets," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 621-642.
    45. Lucian Arye Bebchuk & Jesse M. Fried, 2003. "Executive Compensation as an Agency Problem," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 71-92, Summer.
    46. Core, John E. & Holthausen, Robert W. & Larcker, David F., 1999. "Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 371-406, March.
    47. Roe, Mark J., 1990. "Political and legal restraints on ownership and control of public companies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 7-41, September.
    48. Jensen, Michael C & Murphy, Kevin J, 1990. "Performance Pay and Top-Management Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(2), pages 225-264, April.
    49. Cheung, Yan-Leung & Stouraitis, Aris & Wong, Anita W.S., 2005. "Ownership concentration and executive compensation in closely held firms: Evidence from Hong Kong," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 511-532, September.
    50. Garen, John E, 1994. "Executive Compensation and Principal-Agent Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(6), pages 1175-1199, December.
    51. Li Liao & Bibo Liu & Hao Wang, 2011. "Information Discovery in Share Lockups: Evidence from the Split‐Share Structure Reform in China," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 40(4), pages 1001-1027, December.
    52. Theodore Groves & Yongmiao Hong & John McMillan & Barry Naughton, 1994. "Autonomy and Incentives in Chinese State Enterprises," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 183-209.
    53. Bebchuk, Lucian A. & Fried, Jesse M., 2003. "Executive Compensation as an Agency Problem," Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics, Working Paper Series qt81q3136r, Berkeley Olin Program in Law & Economics.
    54. Groves, Theodore & Yongmiao Hong & John McMillan & Barry Naughton, 1995. "China's Evolving Managerial Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(4), pages 873-892, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hao Liang & Luc Renneboog, 2017. "Corporate donations and shareholder value," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 33(2), pages 278-316.
    2. Luc Renneboog & Yang Zhao, 2020. "Director networks, turnover, and appointments," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 26(1), pages 44-76, January.
    3. Riguang Wen & Qun Cao & Huijuan Wang, 2023. "Are Pay Decisions Based on Pre-Contract Efficiency Necessarily Correct? Evidence From Players Contracts of National Basketball Association," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, November.
    4. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2019. "Failure and success in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 650-699.
    5. Chen, Zonghao & Keefe, Michael O’Connor, 2018. "Board of director compensation in China: To pay or not to pay? How much to pay?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 66-82.
    6. Liu, Wei & De Sisto, Marco & Li, Wen Helena, 2021. "How does the turnover of local officials make firms more charitable? A comprehensive analysis of corporate philanthropy in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    7. Słomka-Gołębiowska, Agnieszka & Urbanek, Piotr, 2016. "Corporate boards, large blockholders and executive compensation in banks: Evidence from Poland," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 203-220.
    8. Ernest Gyapong & Ammad Ahmed & Collins G Ntim & Muhammad Nadeem, 2021. "Board gender diversity and dividend policy in Australian listed firms: the effect of ownership concentration," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 603-643, June.
    9. Feito-Ruiz, Isabel & Renneboog, Luc, 2017. "Takeovers and (excess) CEO compensation," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 156-181.
    10. Sunny Li Sun & Young Jin Ko, 2023. "The Zone of Conformity: A Comparison of Private and State-Controlled Enterprises in M&As," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(2), pages 247-284, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fuxiu Jiang & Kenneth A Kim, 2020. "Corporate Governance in China: A Survey [The role of boards of directors in corporate governance: a conceptual framework and survey]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 24(4), pages 733-772.
    2. Wang, Qiong & Qiu, Muqing, 2023. "Strength in numbers: Minority shareholders' participation and executives' pay-performance sensitivity," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    3. Hu, Fang & Pan, Xiaofei & Tian, Gary, 2013. "Does CEO pay dispersion matter in an emerging market? Evidence from China's listed firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 235-255.
    4. Lucian A. Bebchuk & Michael S. Weisbach, 2012. "The State of Corporate Governance Research," Springer Books, in: Sabri Boubaker & Bang Dang Nguyen & Duc Khuong Nguyen (ed.), Corporate Governance, edition 127, pages 325-346, Springer.
    5. Cheng, Minying & Lin, Bingxuan & Wei, Minghai, 2015. "Executive compensation in family firms: The effect of multiple family members," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 238-257.
    6. Mike Burkart & Samuel Lee, 2008. "One Share - One Vote: the Theory," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 12(1), pages 1-49.
    7. Ferrell, Allen & Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2016. "Socially responsible firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 585-606.
    8. Ferrell, Allen & Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2016. "Socially responsible firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 585-606.
    9. Alhashel, Bader S. & Albader, Sulaiman H., 2020. "How do sovereign wealth funds pay their portfolio companies’ executives? Evidence from Kuwait," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 303-322.
    10. Andrea Melis & Silvia Carta & Silvia Gaia, 2012. "Executive remuneration in blockholder-dominated firms. How do Italian firms use stock options?," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(3), pages 511-541, August.
    11. Chen, Chao-Jung & Hsu, Chung-Yuan & Chen, Yu-Lin, 2014. "The impact of family control on the top management compensation mix and incentive orientation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 29-46.
    12. Chongwoo Choe & Gloria Tian & Xiangkang Yin, 2008. "Managerial Power, Stock-Based Compensation, And Firm Performance: Theory And Evidence," Monash Economics Working Papers 21/08, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    13. Takao Kato & Cheryl Long, 2004. "Executive Compensation, Firm Performance, and State Ownership in China: Evidence from New Panel Data," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2004-690, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    14. Słomka-Gołębiowska, Agnieszka & Urbanek, Piotr, 2016. "Corporate boards, large blockholders and executive compensation in banks: Evidence from Poland," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 203-220.
    15. Muhammad Fayyaz Sheikh & Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah & Saeed Akbar, 2018. "Firm performance, corporate governance and executive compensation in Pakistan," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(18), pages 2012-2027, April.
    16. Jiang, Lin & Kling, Gerhard & Bo, Hong & Driver, Ciaran, 2017. "Why do firms adopt stock options and who benefits? A natural experiment in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA), pages 124-140.
    17. Chiraz Ben Ali & Frederic Teulon, 2014. "CEO Monitoring and board effectiveness: Resolving CEO compensation issue," Working Papers 2014-45, Department of Research, Ipag Business School.
    18. Kato, Takao & Kim, Woochan & Lee, Ju Ho, 2007. "Executive compensation, firm performance, and Chaebols in Korea: Evidence from new panel data," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 36-55, January.
    19. Chen, Shenglan & Lin, Bingxuan & Lu, Rui & Zhang, Ting, 2015. "Controlling shareholders’ incentives and executive pay-for-performance sensitivity: Evidence from the split share structure reform in China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 147-160.
    20. Shujun Ding & Chunxin Jia & Craig Wilson & Zhenyu Wu, 2015. "Political connections and agency conflicts: the roles of owner and manager political influence on executive compensation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 407-434, August.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • H70 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - General
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • P31 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist Institutions and Their Transitions - - - Socialist Enterprises and Their Transitions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:tiu:tiutis:9b8bdc5e-6425-47f5-91d7-f9f33650ce80. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Richard Broekman (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/about/schools/economics-and-management/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.