Corporate Governance relates to mechanisms through which providers of resources to the firm get their share of resources in return. Adequate governance practices help develop capital markets and assist market forces in attaining efficient contracts. Convincing evidence exists that well developed...

This paper examines the impact of controlling shareholders' stock pledge on institutional shareholding using the sample of Chinese listed firms. Stock pledge means shareholders use stock of listed firms as the pledged assets to apply for loans. Using the sample of Chinese listed firms during the...

Passive institutional investors are an increasingly important component of U.S. stock ownership. To examine whether and by which mechanisms passive investors influence firms' governance, we exploit variation in ownership by passive mutual funds associated with stock assignments to the Russell...

This study examines the agency problem of expropriation using dividends in politically connected firms and the relevance of institutional investors in limiting this problem. Our results suggest that politically connected firms (PCON) have a preference to pay lower dividends whereas institutional...

This study investigates whether the stewardship code mitigates the free-rider problem of institutional investors. We construct panel data of listed firms in 56 countries and examine the effects of the introduction of stewardship codes in 13 countries using a difference-in-differences approach....

In this paper I examine the phenomenon called Hedge Fund Activism and its effect on the governance of public corporations in the United States.The following subtopics are addressed:1. Definition of Hedge Fund Activism, its primary objective and typical targets;2. Review of the public policy...

This study addresses the debate over the relation between institutional ownership and dividend payout through the lens of the agency theory. We hypothesize that only institutional investors with certain traits are likely to monitor and conditioning on firms' financial performance, they will use...