Abstract Based on the data of the shanghai and shenzhen A shares listed companies during the period of 2005~2013, this study investigates how the regional marketization affects the incentive effect of executive-staff’s pay gap on corporate performance, as well as whether the effect exists differently under different ownership property. The results show that regional marketization enlarges the executive-staff’s pay gap, especially promotes the executive-staff’s pay gap of Non-state-owned listed companies. At the same time, the executive-staff’s pay gap has positive incentive effect on corporate performance, particularly, with growing market, the incentive effect has been significantly enhanced in Non-state-owned listed companies. However, in State-owned listed companies, the positive acceleration of the executive-staff’s pay gap to corporate performance tends to weaken with growing market. Therefore, promoting the regional marketization will be the core that the incentive effect of the executive-staff’s pay gap comes into play, however, enlarging the executive-staff’s pay gap of the state-owned enterprises should be coordinated with regional marketization and the market-oriented reform process.
2016, Vol. 13 
