As we begin to analyze the first proxy season under “say on pay” in the US, it may be useful to review the evidence from the UK experience with say on pay. In the study, Say on Pay Votes and CEO Compensation: Evidence from the UK, co-authored with David Maber of University of Southern California and forthcoming in the Review of Finance, we examine the impact of “say on pay” in the UK, the first country to adopt a mandatory, non-binding annual shareholder vote on executive pay.

We perform three sets of analyses. First, we examine the market reaction to the (largely unanticipated) announcement of say on pay regulation and find positive abnormal returns for firms with weak penalties for poor performance, e.g. firms with excess CEO pay combined with poor performance and firms with generous severance contracts, which can weaken penalties in the event of poor future performance.

(more…)