Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T09:00:40.921Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Nonmonetary Benefits, Quality of Life, and Executive Compensation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2013

Xin Deng
Affiliation:
[email protected], School of Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, 777 Guoding Rd, Shanghai 200433, China;
Huasheng Gao
Affiliation:
[email protected], Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, S3-B1A-06, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore 639798, Singapore.

Abstract

We examine the effects of nonmonetary benefits on overall executive compensation from the perspective of the living environment at the firm headquarters. Companies in polluted, high crime rate, or otherwise unpleasant locations pay higher compensation to their chief executive officers (CEOs) than companies located in more livable locations. This premium in pay for quality of life is stronger when firms face tougher competition in the managerial labor market, when the CEO is hired from outside, and when the CEO has short-term career concerns. Overall, the geographic desirability of the corporate headquarters is an effective substitute for CEO monetary pay.

Type
Research Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Michael G. Foster School of Business, University of Washington 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Almazan, A.; De Motta, A.; and Titman, S.Firm Location and the Creation and Utilization of Human Capital.” Review of Economics Studies, 74 (2007), 13051327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almazan, A.; De Motta, A.; Titman, S.; and Uysal, V.Financial Structure, Acquisition Opportunities, and Firm Locations.” Journal of Finance, 65 (2010), 529563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ang, J.; Nagel, G.; and Yang, J.The Effect of Social Pressures on CEO Compensation.” Working Paper, Florida State University (2010).Google Scholar
Becker, G. “A Theory of the Allocation of Time.” Economic Journal, 75 (1965), 493517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, F., and Scholes, M.The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities.” Journal of Political Economy, 81 (1973), 637654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blomquist, G.; Berger, M.; and Hoehn, J.New Estimates of Quality of Life in Urban Areas.” American Economic Review, 78 (1988), 89107.Google Scholar
Chidambaran, N. K., and Prabhala, N. R.Executive Stock Option Repricing, Internal Governance Mechanisms, and Management Turnover.” Journal of Financial Economics, 69 (2003), 153189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Core, J.; Holthausen, R.; and Larcker, D.Corporate Governance, Chief Executive Officer Compensation, and Firm Performance.” Journal of Financial Economics, 51 (1999), 371406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fama, E., and French, K.Industry Costs of Capital.” Journal of Financial Economics, 43 (1997), 153193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gabriel, S., and Rosenthal, S.Quality of the Business Environment versus Quality of Life: Do Firms and Households Like the Same Cities?Review of Economics and Statistics, 86 (2004), 438444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gao, H. “Market Misvaluation, Managerial Horizon, and Acquisitions.” Financial Management, 39 (2010), 833850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibbons, R., and Murphy, K. J.Optimal Incentive Contracts in the Presence of Career Concerns: Theory and Evidence.” Journal of Political Economy, 100 (1992), 468505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gronau, R.Leisure, Home Production, and Work—The Theory of the Allocation of Time Revisited.” Journal of Political Economy, 85 (1977), 10991123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gyourko, J., and Tracy, J.The Structure of Local Public Finance and the Quality of Life.” Journal of Political Economy, 99 (1991), 774806.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, M. C., and Murphy, K. J.CEO Incentives—It’s Not How Much You Pay, But How.” Harvard Business Review, May–June (1990), 138153.Google Scholar
Kalpathy, S.Stock Option Repricing and Its Alternatives: An Empirical Examination.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 44 (2009), 14591487.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaplan, S. N., and Rauh, J. D.Wall Street and Main Street: What Contributes to the Rise in the Highest Incomes?Review of Financial Studies, 23 (2010), 10041050.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mathios, A. “Education, Variation in Earnings, and Nonmonetary Compensation.” Journal of Human Resources, 24 (1989), 456468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milbourn, T.CEO Reputation and Stock-Based Compensation.” Journal of Financial Economics, 68 (2003), 233262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, D. “Internal Monitoring of Quality of Life for Economic Development.” Economic Development Quarterly, 1 (1987), 268278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pirinsky, C., and Wang, Q.Does Corporate Headquarters Location Matter for Stock Returns?Journal of Finance, 61 (2006), 19912015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Power, T. M. The Economic Value of the Quality of Life. Boulder, CO: Westview Press (1980).Google Scholar
Rajgopal, S.; Shevlin, T.; and Zamora, V.CEOs’ Outside Employment Opportunities and the Lack of Relative Performance Evaluation in Compensation Contracts.” Journal of Finance, 61 (2006), 18131844.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roback, J. “Wages, Rents, and the Quality of Life.” Journal of Political Economy, 90 (1982), 12571278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, V. K., and Desvousges, W. H.The Value of Avoiding a Lulu: Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites.” Review of Economics and Statistics, 68 (1986), 293299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solberg, E., and Wong, D.Family Time Use: Leisure, Home Production, Market Work, and Work Related Travel.” Journal of Human Resources, 27 (1992), 485510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viscusi, K. “The Value of Risks to Life and Health.” Journal of Economics Literature, 31 (1993), 19121946.Google Scholar
Walker, D. I. “Evolving Executive Equity Compensation and the Limits of Optimal Contracting.” Vanderbilt Law Review, 64 (2011), 611674.Google Scholar
Yonker, S. E. “Geography and the Market for CEOs.” Working Paper, Indiana University (2010).Google Scholar