This book explores what happened in the transition economies of China, Vietnam and Myanmar from both macro and micro perspectives, and questions whether the governments of these countries are capable of implementing effective reform and transformation

Achieving Financial Stability in Asia sets out to identify the elements which could restore confidence to the countries of the region and stabilise financial flows on a global basis. Thus, measures must be taken which include improving public and corporate governance, strengthening democracy and...

The question of whether the CEO should also serve as chairman of the board is one of the most hotly debated issues in the recent corporate governance discussion. While agencytheoretic arguments advocate a separation of decision and control functions, the empirical evidence focusing on U.S....

The traditional methodology examining optimal boards relates a simple board variable (e.g., independence or board demography) to firm performance, however, ig- noring other board characteristics. This paper investigates how the education and business experience of directors affect firm...

Regulators and shareholders are calling for independent directors. Independent directors, however, have numerous external professional commitments. Using To- bin's Q as an approximation of market valuation and controlling for endogeneity, our empirical analysis reveals that neither external...

The legal environment is one important determinant of corporate governance. However, within legal families, also cultural differences can explain the level of corporate governance to some extent. We analyze this relationship for the case of Switzerland. Swiss firms are mainly located in two...

The paper complements entry mode research by dealing with the choice of alternative modes of governance in the specific case of foreign R&D and its impact on a parent firm's performance. Firstly, we identify the factors that determine whether a firm locates abroad any R&D activities, and, if it...