What precisely is stock market short-termism? For an issue that pervades corporate governance thinking, rhetoric, and policymaking, one would think that we know well what it is. But much that’s called stock market short-termism is not properly categorized as such. This distinction—between...

Easterbrook and Fischel’s work suggests that society as a whole would achieve the best results if corporate leaders focused only on raising stock prices, leaving other institutions to tend to all other interests. But the idea that making societally important corporations govern to the whims of...

We analyze the stock market response to a comprehensive international sample of 1,560 corporate green bond announcements between January 2013 and January 2022. We do not find any significant market response to these green bond announcements. We conduct a battery of tests to check the robustness...

This paper uses a quasi-experimental framework provided by recent changes in Russian corporate law to study the effect of investor protection on the value of shares. The legal change analyzed involves the empowerment of preferred (non-voting) shareholders to veto unfavorable changes in their...

This paper uses a quasi-experimental framework provided by recent changes in Russian corporate law to study the effect of investor protection on the value of shares. The legal change analyzed involves the empowerment of preferred (non-voting) shareholders to veto unfavorable changes in their...

Whereas the agency theory predicts that dual-class shares decrease firm performance, the stewardship theory predicts that dual-class shares increase firm performance. The cumulative findings on the performance consequences of dual-class shares have been weak and/or inconclusive. Because...

In 2008, share prices on U.S. stock markets fell further than they had during any one year since the 1930s. Does this mean corporate governance “failed”? This paper argues “no”, based on a study of a sample of companies at “ground zero” of the stock market meltdown, namely the 37...

This paper studies the impact of regulation on IPO markets using historical data. Regulatory interventions have different effects on the development of public equity markets under different conditions. Studying the whole population of 879 Italian IPOs from the unification of Italy (1861) through...

We revisit the research question centering around the impact of the market for corporate control on stock price crash risk. Using a newly-developed takeover index from Cain, McKeon, and Solomon (2017) that comprehensively considers existing state takeover laws, federal statutes, and state court...