Paying for performance: incentive pay schemes and employees’ financial participation

The chapter introduces the main issues raised by the second section of the book. First, the authors argue that, in recent years, a growing proportion of firms introduced incentive pay schemes. Moreover, the economic recession has increased interest in firm practices that may improve performance and employment, and in public policies to promote such practices. Most studies have suggested that performance-related pay schemes are usually associated with improved employee productivity. In particular, the book focuses on a new wave of studies that have used company-specific data, with credible identification strategies, to investigate the effects of the introduction of performance-related schemes. The chapter also addresses the topic of a renewed interest in incentive systems that go beyond short-term effort and give employees a stake in the long-term prospects of the firm