Existing literature suggests that the contents of corporate governance codes are similar due to external forces, such as increased integration of countries in the global economy, the increased role of foreign institutional investors and recommendations on corporate governance practices of...

This paper presents a rational expectations model of optimal executive compensation in a setting where managers are in a position to manipulate short-term stock prices, and managers' propensity to manipulate is uncertain. Stock-based incentives elicit not only productive effort, but also costly...

Various commentators have praised the WorldCom and Enron settlements for holding outside directors personally liable, arguing that heightened director liability will induce greater board oversight. This paper shows that the connection between director liability and board behavior is more subtle,...

Using a sample of UK firms, we find that institutional block-holding is negatively associated with directors' ownership and is positively associated with board composition, suggesting that institutional block-holders regard directors' ownership and board composition as substitute and...

We examine the influence of anti-takeover provisions on valuation, stock return and operating performance using data from an extensive sample of publicly listed Nordic companies during the time period of 1999-2004 (similar to Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick 2003 [Corporate governance and equity...

We explore the relative efficiency of stock markets across countries using newly available data on transactions costs and the quality of the informational environment of stock markets. These new measures are constructed from firm-level stock returns in a panel of 60 countries for the period...

Combining agency-theoretical with organisational population ecology approaches, this article analyses which factors drive the survival probabilities of organisations of the same type - listed stock corporations - facing the same institutional environment over a long period of time. It presents...

In 1900 US business corporations were dominated by plutocratic family owners, while British and French quoted companies showed higher levels of divorce of shareholding owners from management controllers. Distinctive European 'democratic' corporate governance rules explain some of Europe's...

We provide a critical reflection of Toms and Wilson's 'new paradigm of British business history' by focusing on the logical consistency of their model, the robustness of its predictive powers, and its explanation of transitional change related to stages of business capitalism. For example,...

The role of 'opaque' networks are analysed within the context of an infant economy with low levels of corporate governance. A period of economic expansion is studied, documenting the effects of credit liberalisation. This article outlines the significance of networks, emerging business cliques,...