Is a Higher Calling Enough? Incentive Compensation in the Church

Jay C. Hartzell, Christopher A. Parsons and David L. Yermack

Journal of Labor Economics, 2010, vol. 28, issue 3, 509-539

Abstract: We study the compensation and productivity of more than 2,000 Methodist ministers in a 43-year panel data set. The church appears to use pay-for-performance incentives for its clergy, as their compensation follows a sharing rule by which pastors receive approximately 3% of the incremental revenue from membership increases. Ministers receive the strongest rewards for attracting new parishioners who switch from other congregations within their denomination. Monetary incentives are weaker in settings where ministers have less control over their measured performance. (c) 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Date: 2010
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:28:y:2010:i:3:p:509-539

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