The Impact of Boni Regulation - A Theoretical Analysis

Project Start:01/2018
Status:Completed
Researchers:Roman Inderst
Area: Law and Finance
Funded by:LOEWE

Topic & Objectives

This project provides a complete characterization of optimal contracts in principal-agent settings where the agent's action has persistent effects. We model general information environments via the stochastic process of the likelihood-ratio. The martingale property of this performance metric captures the information benefit of deferral. Costs of deferral may result from both the agent's relative impatience as well as her consumption smoothing needs. If the relatively impatient agent is risk neutral, optimal contracts take a simple form in that they only reward maximal performance for at most two payout dates. If the agent is additionally risk-averse, optimal contracts stipulate rewards for a larger selection of dates and performance states: The performance hurdle to obtain the same level of compensation is increasing over time whereas the pay-performance sensitivity is declining.

Related Published Papers

Author/sTitleYearAreaKeywords
Florian Hoffmann, Roman Inderst, Marcus OppOnly Time will Tell: A Theory of Deferred Compensation
The Review of Economic Studies
2021 Law and Finance Compensation design, duration of pay, moral hazard, persistence, principal- agent models, informativeness principle

Related Working Papers

No.Author/sTitleYearAreaKeywords
218Florian Hoffmann, Roman Inderst, Marcus OppOnly Time will Tell: A Theory of Deferred Compensation2018 Law and Finance Compensation design, duration of pay, moral hazard, persistence, principal- agent models, informativeness principle
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