Agency Conflicts and Short- versus Long-Termism in Corporate Policies

AuthorE. Morellec, S, Gryglewicz, S. Mayer
JournalJournal of Financial Economics
Date2 juin 2020
CatégorieAcademic Publications
Volume136(3)
Page numbers718–742

We build a dynamic agency model in which the agent controls both current earnings via short-term investment and firm growth via long-term investment. Under the optimal contract, agency conflicts can induce short- and long-term investment levels beyond first best, leading to short- or long-termism in corporate policies. The paper analytically shows how firm characteristics shape the optimal contract and the horizon of corporate policies, thereby generating a number of novel empirical predictions on the optimality of short- versus long-termism. It also demonstrates that combining short- and long-term agency conflicts naturally leads to asymmetric pay-for-performance in managerial contracts.