This paper explores the institutional and socio-cultural factors explaining the differential development and growth rates of the mutual fund industry in a sample of 41 countries. It draws on multivariate OLS regressions. It shows that the development of mutual funds is influenced positively by...

The Dodd-Frank Act is single longest bill ever passed by the U.S… The Dodd-Frank Act passed in reply to the latest financial meltdown, which applies to prevent further fraud and abuse in the markets, also geared toward protecting consumers with regulations like keeping borrowers from abusive...

The paper presents the actual ownership structure of public companies in Bulgaria on the basis of a survey of 104 of the companies traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. It discusses as well the problems of disclosure of ownership information, focusing on the transposition of the EC Large...

The process of improving Corporate Governance in emerging markets touches on a number of different aspects of the market organization. One essential area is the regulation, scope, timing and of procedure for mandatory disclosure of information. Disclosure is very important for investors, since...

This paper uses a quasi-experimental framework provided by recent changes in Russian corporate law to study the effect of investor protection on the value of shares. The legal change analyzed involves the empowerment of preferred (non-voting) shareholders to veto unfavorable changes in their...

We offer here the psychological attraction approach to accounting and disclosure rules, regulation, and policy as a program for positive accounting research. We suggest that psychological forces have shaped and continue to shape rules and policies in two different ways. (1) Good Rules for Bad...

The use of equity derivatives to conceal economic ownership of shares (“hidden ownership”) is increasingly drawing attention from the financial community, as is the exercise of voting power without corresponding economic interest (“empty voting”). Market participants and commentators...

This paper deals with the evolution of corporate governance institutions that were imported into Russia in the 1990s. We use empirical evidence from firms, mainly in the banking industry, to test theoretical assumptions. Study of objective interests of various stakeholders prompts a hypo-thesis...

The purpose of the article is to illustrate the main characteristics of the corporate governance challenge facing the countries of South-Eastern Europe (SEE) and to subsequently determine and assess the extensiveness and effectiveness of corporate governance regulation in these countries....

The use of equity derivatives to conceal economic ownership of shares (“hidden ownership”) is increasingly drawing attention from the financial community, as is the exercise of voting power without corresponding economic interest (“empty voting”). Market participants and commentators...