We study when firms choose to install boards and their roles in a historical setting where neither boards nor their duties are mandated by law. Boards arise in firms with large, heterogenous shareholder bases. We propose that an important role of boards is to mediate between heterogenous...

‘Shareholder rights' are the legal entitlements of shareholders via-a-vis companies in which they invest. A large body of research has sought to investigate how shareholder rights foster accountability of controllers. The concern has been that without accountability, managers and dominant...

All over the world, companies play an important role in the economy. Different types of stakeholders hold the reins in these companies. An important class are the shareholders that finance the activities of these companies. In return, stakeholders have a say on how these companies should be...

Firms in the same networks tend to have similar corporate governance practices. However, it is difficult to disentangle peer effects, where governance practices propagate from one firm to another, from selection effects, where firms with similar governance preferences self-select into linked...

Firms in the same networks tend to have similar corporate governance practices. However, it is difficult to disentangle peer effects, where governance practices propagate from one firm to another, from selection effects, where firms with similar governance preferences self-select into linked...

Firms in the same networks tend to have similar corporate governance practices. However, it is difficult to disentangle peer effects, where governance practices propagate from one firm to another, from selection effects, where firms with similar governance preferences self-select into linked...

Pragmatic and effective research on corporate governance often turns critically on appreciating the legal institutions surrounding corporate entities – yet such nuances are often unfamiliar or poorly specified to economists and other social scientists without legal training. This chapter...

Firms in the same networks tend to have similar corporate governance practices. However, it is difficult to distinguish between peer effects, where governance practices propagate from one firm to another, and selection effects, where firms with similar governance preferences self-select into...

Die ökonomische Bedeutung der Organhaftung im nationalen Aktienrecht -- Der Einfluss von D&O-Versicherungen auf die Organhaftung -- Die materiell-rechtliche Organhaftung de lege lata -- Das Haftungsdurchsetzungsdefizit, seine Ursachen und die Konsequenzen -- Die Reform der Aktionärsklage als...

This paper supports the objective of the proposed revision of the Shareholder Rights Directive (Directive 2007/36/EC), that is, to contribute to the long-term sustainability of EU companies. However, it expresses concern that the measures being considered will not achieve their intended purpose,...

Corporate governance frameworks in the Middle East and North Africa region have undergone a substantial evolution in the past decade. Better enforcement of corporate governance rules and regulations has in the past three years emerged as both a policy challenge and a priority for the region....

Since the early 1980s, governments worldwide have taken many measures to expand the role of markets. Recent political events reflect widespread disenchantment with neoliberal policies, but it remains doubtful whether populist leaders will deliver the market restraints that many of their voters...

We use events related to a proxy access rule passed by the SEC in 2010 (but never implemented) as natural experiments to study the valuation effects of exogenous changes in the degree of shareholder control. We find that increases (decreases) in perceived control have positive (negative)...

Shareholder liability was once discussed only in terms of liability for the debts of the corporation in which the shareholders hold interest. That is now a shifting scene, influenced in the main by the emergence of shareholder activism and derivative litigation, with its attendant increase of...

The short term and long term stock price volatility changes around bonus and rights issue announcements have been examined using historical volatility estimation and time varying volatility approach. The results show that the historical volatility has increased after bonus and rights issue...

In a sample of 22,374 firms from 35 countries, we examine the role of creditor rights, shareholder rights, and corporate governance in determining corporate dividend policy. We find that, while all three variables play a significant role in determining both the likelihood and the dividend...

Forderungen nach mehr Aktionärsdemokratie finden zunehmende gesellschaftliche und auch akademische Akzeptanz. Der Beitrag erläutert, weswegen sie dennoch falsch sind, und empfiehlt eine Rückbesinnung auf die Kernelemente der Board Primacy im Falle anstehender Aktienrechtsrevisionen.