In Search of Ideas: Technological Innovation and Executive Pay Inequality

62 Pages Posted: 14 Dec 2015 Last revised: 22 Jul 2023

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: December 2015

Abstract

We develop a general equilibrium model that delivers realistic fluctuations in both the level as well as the dispersion in executive pay as a result of changes in the technology frontier. Our model recognizes that executives add value to the firm not only by participating in production decisions, but also by identifying new investment opportunities. The economic value of these two distinct components of the executive's job varies with the state of the economy. Improvements in technology that are specific to new vintages of capital raise the skill price of discovering new growth prospects -- and thus raise the compensation of executives relative to workers. If most of the dispersion in managerial skill lies in the ability to find new projects, dispersion in executive pay will also rise. Our model delivers testable predictions about the relation between executive pay and growth opportunities that are quantitatively consistent with the data.

Suggested Citation

Frydman, Carola and Papanikolaou, Dimitris, In Search of Ideas: Technological Innovation and Executive Pay Inequality (December 2015). NBER Working Paper No. w21795, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2703200

Carola Frydman (Contact Author)

Northwestern University ( email )

2211 Campus Drive
Room 4383
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Dimitris Papanikolaou

Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management - Department of Finance ( email )

Evanston, IL 60208
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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