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Is There a Discretion in Wage Setting? A Test Using Takeover Legislation

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Author Info
Marianne Bertrand
Sendhil Mullainathan

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Abstract

Anecdotal evidence suggests that uncontrolled managers let wages rise above competitive levels. To test this belief, we examine the wage impact of antitakeover legislation passed throughout the 1980s in many states. Since many view hostile takeovers as an important disciplining device, these laws, by reducing takeover threats, potentially raised managerial discretion. If uncontrolled managers pay higher wages, we expect wages to rise following these laws. Using firm-level data, we find that these laws raised annual wages by 1% to 2%, or about $500 per year. The findings are robust to a battery of specification checks and do not appear to be contaminated by the political economy of the laws or other sources of bias. These results challenge standard theories of wage determination that ignore the role of managerial preferences.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by The RAND Corporation in its journal RAND Journal of Economics.

Volume (Year): 30 (1999)
Issue (Month): 3 (Autumn)
Pages: 535-554
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Handle: RePEc:rje:randje:v:30:y:1999:i:autumn:p:535-554

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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    Other versions:
  2. Richard A. Lester, 1952. "A range theory of wage differentials," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 5(4), pages 483-500, July.
  3. Marianne Bertrand & Sendhil Mullainathan, 1998. "Executive Compensation and Incentives: The Impact of Takeover Legislation," Working Papers 783, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Henry G. Manne, 1965. "Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73, pages 351. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Szewczyk, Samuel H. & Tsetsekos, George P., 1992. "State intervention in the market for corporate control : The case of Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1310," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 3-23. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. Karpoff, Jonathan M. & Malatesta, Paul H., 1989. "The wealth effects of second-generation state takeover legislation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(2), pages 291-322, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Jensen, Michael C, 1988. "Takeovers: Their Causes and Consequences," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 21-48, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Charles Brown & James L. Medoff, 1989. "The Employer Size-Wage Effect," NBER Working Papers 2870, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  19. Henry G. Manne, 1965. "Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73, pages 110. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Debarshi Nandy & Thomas Chemmanur, 2005. "How is Value Created in Spin-Offs? A Look Inside the Black Box," Working Papers 05-09, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  2. Giroud, Xavier & Mueller, Holger M, 2007. "Does Corporate Governance Matter in Competitive Industries?," CEPR Discussion Papers 6446, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Xavier Giroud & Holger M. Mueller, 2009. "Does Corporate Governance Matter in Competitive Industries?," NBER Working Papers 14877, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Cronqvist, Henrik & Heyman, Fredrik & Nilsson, Mattias & Svaleryd, Helena & Vlachos, Jonas, 2006. "Do Entrenched Managers Pay Their Workers More?," Working Paper Series 2005-23, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Shijun Cheng & John Evans & Nandu Nagarajan, 2008. "Board size and firm performance: the moderating effects of the market for corporate control," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 121-145, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Low, Angie, 2006. "Managerial Risk-Taking Behavior and Equity-Based Compensation," Working Paper Series 2006-20, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Marianne Bertrand, 1998. "From the Invisible Handshake to the Invisible Hand? How Import Competition Changes the Employment Relationship," Working Papers 789, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
  8. Bar-Gill, Oren & Barzuza, Michal & Bebchuk, Lucian Arye, 2002. "The Market for Corporate Law," CEPR Discussion Papers 3553, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Heyman, Fredrik & Svaleryd, Helena & Vlachos, Jonas, 2008. "Competition, Takeovers and Gender Discrimination," Working Paper Series 734, Research Institute of Industrial Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Bebchuk, Lucian Arye & Cohen, Alma, 2002. "Firms' Decisions on Where to Incorporate," CEPR Discussion Papers 3514, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Lucian Bebchuk & Alma Cohen, 2002. "Firms' Decisions Where to Incorporate," NBER Working Papers 9107, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2001. "The Division of Spoils: Rent-Sharing and Discrimination in a Regulated Industry," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 814-831, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Gary Charness & David Levine, 2003. "The Road to Hell: An Experimental Study of Intentions," University of California at Santa Barbara, Economics Working Paper Series 14-03, Department of Economics, UC Santa Barbara. [Downloadable!]
  14. Marianne Bertrand, 1999. "From the Invisible Handshake to the Invisible Hand? How Import Competition Changes the Employment Relationship," NBER Working Papers 6900, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Pagano, Marco & Volpin, Paolo, 2002. "Managers, Workers and Corporate Control," CEPR Discussion Papers 3649, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Casamatta, Catherine & Gümbel, Alexander, 2007. "Managerial Legacies, Entrenchment and Strategic Inertia," IDEI Working Papers 442, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse. [Downloadable!]
  17. Burt Malkiel & Judith Malkiel, 1972. "Male-Female Pay Differentials in Professional Employment," Working Papers 410, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section.. [Downloadable!]
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