Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/189918 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
School of Economics Discussion Papers No. 1807
Publisher: 
University of Kent, School of Economics, Canterbury
Abstract: 
We study the pay of UK universities chief executives ("vice-chancellors") over a ten year period. Although there is a correlation between pay and performance, with better performing institutions paying higher salaries, we find limited evidence that this relationship is causal; that is, we find no statistically significant link that a change in pay leads to a change in performance, or vice-versa. Instead, we find strong support for an asymmetric benchmarking behaviour, where those institutions with below average pay increase their vice-chancellor's salaries quicker than those with above average pay. We simulate a model whereby different institutions target different places of the distribution of salaries and demonstrate that inflation of pay can be explained by this behaviour.
Subjects: 
Executive Compensation
Performance Pay
Efficiency Wages
Benchmark
JEL: 
G3
J33
Z13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
755.54 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.