Managerial Incentives and Stock Price Manipulation

We present a rational expectations model of optimal executive compensation in a setting where managers are in a position to manipulate short-term stock prices and the manipulation propensity is uncertain. We analyze the tradeoffs involved in conditioning pay on long- versus short-term performance and show how manipulation, and investors' uncertainty about it, affects the equilibrium pay contract and the informativeness of prices. Firm and manager characteristics determine the optimal compensation scheme: the strength of incentives, the pay horizon, and the use of options. We consider how corporate governance and disclosure regulations can help create an environment that enables better contracting.