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Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 39 No. 2-3 1995

Do corporations award CEO stock options effectively?

David Yermack

New York University

open access

Abstract

This paper analyzes stock option awards to CEOs of 792 U.S. public corporations between 1984 and 1991. Using a Black-Scholes approach, I test whether stock options' performance incentives have significant associations with explanatory variables related to agency cost reduction. Further tests examine whether the mix of compensation between stock options and cash pay can be explained by corporate liquidity, tax status, or earnings management. Results indicate that few agency or financial contracting theories have explanatory power for patterns of CEO stock option awards.

DOI
10.1016/0304-405x(95)00829-4
Volume
39
Issue
2-3
Pages
237-269
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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