Trends

Abstract

In recent months there's been much angry outcry about the colossal compensation sums racked up by some CEOs—notably AT&T's Robert Allen's well‐publicized haul of up to $16 million in 1995. Some observers, viewing such pay packages as rewards for boosting stock prices by cutting jobs, rail against a perceived lack of social conscience. Other critics, such as the administrators of CALPERS, California's powerful public employee pension fund, worry that excessive rewards for dramatic short‐term boosts in share prices ultimately will degrade the long‐term value of the equities they manage.