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Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 57 No. 3 2022

Ex Post Bargaining, Corporate Cash Holdings, and Executive Compensation

Yingmei Cheng1; Jarrad Harford2; Irena Hutton1; Stephan Shipe3

1 Florida State University · 2 University of Washington · 3 Wake Forest University

Abstract

We show that high cash holdings can be used by executives in the ex post bargaining over their compensation. Cash holdings are positively associated with CEO compensation and is driven by non-salary components. In companies with weaker governance, this relation is more pronounced. Using exogenous shocks to the firm’s cash, we show that CEO compensation readily responds to increases in cash holdings, confirming that managers are able to derive personal benefits from excess cash holdings.

DOI
10.1017/s0022109020000964
Volume
57
Issue
3
Pages
957-987
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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