Publications
Publications
- 2016
- HBS Working Paper Series
Executive Compensation and Environmental Harm
By: Dylan Minor
Abstract
We explore the relationship between managerial incentives and environmental harm. We find that high-powered executive compensation packages can increase the odds of environmental law breaking by 40%–60% and the magnitude of environmental harm by over 100%. We document similar results for the setting of executive compensation and financial accounting misconduct. Finally, we outline some managerial and policy implications to blunt these adverse incentive effects.
Keywords
Misconduct; Environmental Performance; Accounting Scandal; Sustainable Finance; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Executive Compensation; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance
Citation
Minor, Dylan. "Executive Compensation and Environmental Harm." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-076, January 2016. (Revised April 2016.)