Open AccessDoes School Matter? An Empirical Analysis Of CEO Education, Compensation, And Firm Performance
Author(s) -
Terrance Jalbert,
Ramesh P. Rao,
Mercedes Jalbert
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the international business and economic research journal/the international business and economics research journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2157-9393
pISSN - 1535-0754
DOI - 10.19030/iber.v1i1.3882
Subject(s) - accounting , executive compensation , compensation (psychology) , degree (music) , graduate degree , possession (linguistics) , business , corporation , psychology , demographic economics , management , economics , medical education , finance , social psychology , medicine , linguistics , philosophy , physics , acoustics
In this paper the educational background of the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Large U.S. Firms are examined. Specifically, the educational background of CEOs from large U.S. firms, as identified in the Forbes 800 Compensation List, are examined. Information concerning the number of Chief Executive Officers that received their undergraduate and graduate degrees from 463 institutes of higher education are compiled. We find that most CEOs have an undergraduate degree, while about half possess a graduate degree. The results indicate that there are preferred educational backgrounds for selection as the CEO of a major corporation. We also examine how the educational background of the CEO is related to the CEOs total compensation. The evidence indicates that those CEOs that do not have a degree earn significantly more than those CEOs that do have a college degree. We find little evidence that the school attended affects the compensation that the CEO receives. Finally, we examine firm ROA and Tobins Q based on the educational background of the CEO. We find an association between possession of a degree as well as where the degree was earned and the ROA and Tobins Q of the firm.