We study the impact of a principles-based (i.e., comply or explain) approach to female representation on corporate boards. In contrast to the existing evidence on mandatory diversity regulation, we find that those firms most likely to be affected by this principles-based regulation exhibit...

The global financial crisis has brought to public attention the difficulties associated with executive remuneration in the financial services sector. In many instances the financial firms with unsound remuneration practices were listed companies subject to shareholder scrutiny. Why were...

This Article is the first academic study to systematically analyze the overall sensitivity of executive compensation to stock buybacks. Specifically, my analysis of executive compensation arrangements of CEOs included in the S&P 500 Index reveals that buybacks can enhance a record high portion...

Corporate law and corporate governance are often called upon to address problems in international and transnational contexts. Financial markets are global and the problems in those markets are often similar, if not identical, even though the capital market structure across jurisdictions differs...

This paper studies an informational role of a decision to appoint a black director (BD) to a white board in a regime shaped by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. I find that the decision slashes firm valuation, perhaps because it reveals the true color of existing white directors (WDs) are gray. A director...

This article studies the political preferences of chief executive officers (CEOs) of public companies. We use Federal Election Commission records to compile a comprehensive database of the political contributions made by more than 3800 individuals who served as CEOs of Standard & Poor's 1500...

Boards of public corporations in the United States are becoming increasingly independent, due to an effort to ensure that shareholders' interests in the company are protected. Yet, little attention has been given to the way that board members obtain and digest the information necessary for their...

Independent directors are an important feature of modern corporate law. Courts and lawmakers around the world increasingly rely on these directors to protect investors from controlling shareholder opportunism. In this Article, we argue that the existing director-election regime significantly...

The executive suite and the board are closely bound to each other through their fiduciary responsibility to same shareholders. With CEOs' prominent role in both governing bodies, their independence from CEOs' self-serving behavior might be related to each other. We explore the interdependence...