This paper analyses ownership and control structures of Dutch listed companies. Legislation effective since 1992 mandates all shareholders with holdings of 5 percent or more in Dutch companies to disclose their holdings. Our analysis shows that the average ownership stakes of the largest and the...

This paper reviews the pattern of bank failures during the financial crisis and asks whether there was a link with corporate governance. It revisits the theory of bank governance and suggests a multi-constituency approach that emphasizes the role of weak creditors. The empirical evidence...

We investigate the concepts of ‘activist macroeconomic policy’ and ‘stabilization’ within an optimal taxation framework when insurance markets are incomplete.

This paper models optimal executive compensation in a setting where managers are in a position to influence the public perception of their company, and thus the short-term stock price. Stock prices take the possibility of manipulation into account but fail to fully back it out, the degree of...

The paper examines the impact of executive compensation on private securities litigation. We find that incentive pay in the form of options increases the probability of securities class action litigation, holding constant a wide range of firm characteristics. We further document that there is...

This paper documents aggregate trends in the foreign listings of companies, and analyzes their distinctive prelisting characteristics and postlisting performance. In 1986-1997, many European companies listed abroad, mainly on U.S. exchanges, while the number of U.S. companies listed in Europe...

This paper summarises the main results of a research project, quot;Who Controls Corporate Europe?quot;, undertaken by teams of researchers from the various countries investigated, and coordinated by the European Corporate Governance Network in 1996-98. The project relied on a common shareholder...