Pensions and Firm Performance / Steven G. Allen, Robert L. Clark.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allen, Steven G.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Clark, Robert L.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w2266.

NBER working paper series no. w2266

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Pensions.

Industrial efficiency.

Labor productivity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1987.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : National Bureau of Economic Research, 1987.

Summary:

This paper examines how pension plans affect employee behavior and firm performance. Theoretically, the impact of pensions on firm performance cannot be predicted. Firms with pensions should have lower turnover rates and more efficient retirement decisions; their employees will be less likely to shirk. On the other hand, pension compensation is not very closely linked to worker performance and there is some risk that turnover may fall too much. The evidence indicates that although wages do not seem to fall with pension compensation, profit rates are not affected by pension coverage. This suggests that pension coverage is associated with higher productivity, a proposition that is supported by indirect evidence on pensions, turnover, and productivity but not by direct tests of how pension coverage and productivity are correlated.

Notes:

Print version record

May 1987.