Gil Skillman wrote: >So the claim that executives do not typically receive rents depends on >pretty strenuous conditions. How to prove that they in fact receive rents? >Ask first who has proved that they receive _no_ rents--I'd love to see the >study claiming to do this. As a first pass, the evidence that executive pay >_does not_ vary predictably with firm profitability argues against the >relevance of marginal productivity theory in markets for executive labor >power, since the marginal product of an executive, especially the chief >executive, is best thought of in terms of differences in profitability >flowing from the presence of that input. In the higher rentier consciousness, the product of a CEO is, or should be, a higher stock price, which may be the same as reported profits, but hardly always. To that end, compensation packages have been refashioned to depend more on stock options and less on straight salaries. Headline levels of booty, like Eisner's depend heavily on the imputed value of options. Are those "rents"? Doug -- Doug Henwood Left Business Observer 250 W 85 St New York NY 10024-3217 USA +1-212-874-4020 voice +1-212-874-3137 fax email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> web: <http://www.panix.com/~dhenwood/LBO_home.html>
