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The Effect of Competition on Managers' Compensation: Evidence From a Quasi-natural Experiment

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Abstract

This paper studies the effect of competition on executive compensation. We estimate the effect of increased product market competition on the performance-pay sensitivity of CEOs, and contrast it with the effect for department managers and other workers in the corporation. We use a recent reform that simplied firm entry regulation in Portugal as a quasi-natural experiment. The empirical strategy exploits the staggered implementation of the reform across municipalities. Using linked employer-employee data for the universe of workers and firms, we show that increased product market competition, following the deregulation, decreased the sensitivity of pay to performance of CEOs and other managers, with no significant effects found for other workers. These findings are consistent with existing theoretical results in a principal-agent framework that a fall in entry costs leads to weaker managerial incentives.

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  • Ana P. Fernandes & Priscila Ferreira & L. Alan Winters, 2014. "The Effect of Competition on Managers' Compensation: Evidence From a Quasi-natural Experiment," NIMA Working Papers 57, Núcleo de Investigação em Microeconomia Aplicada (NIMA), Universidade do Minho.
    • Handle: RePEc:nim:nimawp:57/2014
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    1. World Bank & International Finance Corporation, 2006. "Doing Business in 2006 : Creating Jobs," World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 7421, August.
    2. Fernandes, Ana P. & Ferreira, Priscila & Alan Winters, L., 2014. "Firm entry deregulation, competition and returns to education and skill," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 210-230.
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    Cited by:

    1. Clara Graziano & Laura Rondi, 2015. "Market Competition or Family Ties: Which Prevails on Italian CEOs Pay?," CESifo Working Paper Series 5398, CESifo.
    2. Priscila Ferreira, 2019. "Market competition and executive pay," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 115-115, February.
    3. Chakraborty, Pavel & Raveh, Ohad, 2018. "Input-trade liberalization and the demand for managers: Evidence from India," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 159-176.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Entry; Deregulation; Product Market Competition; Executive Compensation; Performance-related Pay;

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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