Mihir A. Desai

En las últimas tres décadas, el capitalismo estadounidense se ha transformado silenciosamente gracias a una idea única y poderosa: que los mercados financieros son una herramienta adecuada para medir el rendimiento y estructurar la compensación. Los instrumentos bursátiles para los gestores y los contratos de incentivos de alto poder para los inversores han modificado drásticamente la naturaleza y el nivel de los incentivos y las recompensas relativas en nuestra sociedad, en ambos lados del mercado de capitales.

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Reprint: R1203M 
The past three decades have seen American capitalism quietly transformed by a single, powerful idea&#8212;that financial markets are a suitable tool for measuring performance and structuring compensation. Stock instruments for managers, high-powered incentive contracts for investors, and the rise of alternative assets have dramatically altered the nature and level of incentives and rewards in our society, on both sides of the capital market. These changes have contributed significantly to the twin crises of modern American capitalism: repeated governance failures, which lead many to question the stewardship abilities of American managers and investors, and rising income inequality. 
When risk is repeatedly mispriced because investors enjoy skewed incentive schemes, financial capital is being misallocated. When managers undertake unwise investments or mergers in order to meet expectations that will trigger large compensation packages, real capital is being misallocated. And when relative compensation is as distorted as it has been by the financial-incentive bubble over the past several decades, one can only assume that human capital is being misallocated, to a disturbing degree. Awakening our monitors to their responsibilities and to the flaws of market-based compensation provides the best hope for correcting these imbalances and strengthening the U.S. economy for the challenges of this century.

The Incentive Bubble

Reimpresión: R1203M En las últimas tres décadas, el capitalismo estadounidense se ha transformado silenciosamente gracias a una idea única y poderosa: que los mercados financieros son una herramienta adecuada para medir el rendimiento y estructurar la compensación. Los instrumentos bursátiles para los gestores, los poderosos contratos de incentivos para los inversores y el auge de los activos alternativos han alterado drásticamente la naturaleza y el nivel de los incentivos y recompensas en nuestra sociedad, en ambos lados del mercado de capitales. Estos cambios han contribuido significativamente a la doble crisis del capitalismo estadounidense moderno: los repetidos fracasos de la gobernanza, que llevan a muchos a cuestionar la capacidad de administración de los directivos e inversores estadounidenses, y el aumento de la desigualdad de ingresos. Cuando el riesgo se cotiza mal repetidamente porque los inversores disfrutan de planes de incentivos sesgados, el capital financiero se asigna mal. Cuando los directivos realizan inversiones o fusiones imprudentes para cumplir con las expectativas que se traducirán en grandes paquetes de compensación, el capital real se asigna mal. Y cuando la compensación relativa está tan distorsionada como lo ha estado por la burbuja de los incentivos financieros en las últimas décadas, solo cabe suponer que el capital humano se está asignando mal, hasta un grado inquietante. Hacer que nuestros observadores entiendan sus responsabilidades y los defectos de la compensación basada en el mercado es la mejor esperanza de corregir estos desequilibrios y fortalecer la economía estadounidense para los desafíos de este siglo.

La burbuja de incentivos

Reprint: R1203M The past three decades have seen American capitalism quietly transformed by a single, powerful idea—that financial markets are a suitable tool for measuring performance and structuring compensation. Stock instruments for managers, high-powered incentive contracts for investors, and the rise of alternative assets have dramatically altered the nature and level of incentives and rewards in our society, on both sides of the capital market. These changes have contributed significantly to the twin crises of modern American capitalism: repeated governance failures, which lead many to question the stewardship abilities of American managers and investors, and rising income inequality. When risk is repeatedly mispriced because investors enjoy skewed incentive schemes, financial capital is being misallocated. When managers undertake unwise investments or mergers in order to meet expectations that will trigger large compensation packages, real capital is being misallocated. And when relative compensation is as distorted as it has been by the financial-incentive bubble over the past several decades, one can only assume that human capital is being misallocated, to a disturbing degree. Awakening our monitors to their responsibilities and to the flaws of market-based compensation provides the best hope for correcting these imbalances and strengthening the U.S. economy for the challenges of this century.

La burbuja de incentivos

Resumen.

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