In this paper I argue that corporate finance theory, empirical research, practical applications, and policy recommendations are deeply rooted in an underlying theory of the firm. I also argue that while the existing theories have delivered very important and useful insights, they seem to be...

Several papers study the effect of trust by using the answer to the World Values Survey (WVS) question quot;Generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted or that you can't be too careful in dealing with people?quot; to measure the level of trust. Glaeser et al. (2000)...

We study the effect of media coverage on corporate governance by focusing on Russia in the period 1999-2002. This setting offers us three ideal conditions for such a study: plenty of corporate governance violations, no alternative mechanisms to address them, and the presence of an investment...

In this paper we discuss the role of the media in pressuring corporate managers and directors to behave in ways that are quot;socially acceptablequot;. Sometimes this coincides with shareholders' value maximization, others not. We provide both anecdotal and systematic evidence that media affect...

We study the effects of differences in local financial development within an integrated financial market. We construct a new indicator of financial development by estimating a regional effect on the probability that, ceteris paribus, a household is shut off from the credit market. By using this...

Much has been said recently about the risky legal environment in which outside directors of public companies operate, especially in theUSA, but increasingly elsewhere as well. Our research on outside director liability suggests, however, that directors' fears are largely unjustified. We examine...

Market forces allegedly are serving to destabilise traditional business structures and cause some form of convergence along quot;Anglo-Americanquot; lines. While this trend has been the subject of much debate, it has not been widely commented on in Australia. Moreover, those analysing corporate...

The German system of corporate governance differs considerably from its counterparts in the United States and the United Kingdom. There is anecdotal evidence, however, that suggests market forces are serving to destabilize traditional structures in Germany and are causing some form of...