The list of barriers to female representation in management is analogous to the list of barriers to female labor force participation. Accordingly, we examine whether low female labor force participation is the main reason few women hold seats on corporate boards using data from 22 countries over...

We investigate the hypothesis that shareholder empowerment may have led to more bank bailouts during the recent financial crisis. To test this hypothesis, we propose a management insulation index based on banks’ charter and by-law provisions and on the provisions of the applicable state...

While the corporate governance reforms of the past decade have improved the quality of UK boards - greater professionalism on the part of outside directors, more focus on strategy issues, greater awareness of risk - the role of the chairman has in some respects become more challenging. The...

In this paper, we show that ownership structures vary considerably across the largest European economies, and that ownership has a significant impact on firm performance. We demonstrate that ownership structures in Europe are not necessarily consistent with value maximisation principles....

This book is based on a conference organised by the London School of Economics and New York University, held in London on November 4th and 5th, 2004.The conference brought together academics and practitioners from both sides of the Atlantic to review recent developments in corporate governance,...

We argue that obligatory compliance with stricter financial reporting rules (e.g., the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act) may entail important unintended consequences. Paradoxically, the amount of misreporting may increase because corporate boards spend more valuable resources fulfilling statutory mandates...

In this paper we study how small and medium sized firms successfully decouple themselves from declining markets. Based on detailed interviews with 20 small business top managers, we observe that most firms employ a multiple-strategy approach, simultaneously pursuing a differentiation and a...

In this paper we use clinical studies to document how dominant shareholders have circumvented mandatory bid rules to appropriate wealth from minority shareholders. Dominant shareholders are numerous in continental Europe. Creative compliance with mandatory bid rules reveals the failure of boards...

We study the role of prestige and social networks in the selection of outside directors, and the subsequent effect on firm value. Both prestige and social networks may act as barriers to good corporate governance, as merit based candidates might be disadvantaged when compared to candidates with...

We use data from the NSF Survey of Earned Doctorates to examine the post-degree location choices of foreign-born students receiving PhDs from US universities in science and engineering. Over the period 1960 to 2008, 77% of foreign-born S&E PhDs state that they plan to stay in the United States....