We test the hypothesis that a specific aspect of culture - trust in others - affects shareholder voting behavior as it … shareholder meetings is lower in high-trust countries while the percentage of votes in support of management is higher. Shocks to … trust and IV regressions support this result. We also find that shareholder voting is more valuable in low-trust countries …

We test the hypothesis whether a specific aspect of culture - trust in others - affects shareholder voting behavior by … in high-trust countries while the percentage of votes in support of management proposals is higher. Shocks to trust and … monitoring when trust is high. …

We document a significant decline in the level of generalized trust among finance professionals relative to the decline … of trust in the general U.S. population. This decline occurs across all subsectors and at all hierarchy levels and is … industry. The relative decline of trust is associated with a decreasing level of socialization among finance professionals as …

We show that in countries with more societal trust shareholders cast fewer votes at shareholder meetings and are more … performance in high-trust countries, suggesting that managers do not exploit greater discretion when trust is high. We also find a … negative relation between trust and bond spreads. Our evidence supports theory arguing that trust substitutes for monitoring …