Using a sample of non-U.S. firms from 43 countries, we investigate whether laws and regulations as well as votes cast by U.S. institutional investors are consistent with an effective shareholder voting process. We find that laws and regulations allow for meaningful votes to be cast as...

We investigate whether international operations enhance information links between firms and foreign investors. Exploiting novel subsidiary-level data and within-firm-location variations, we show that, after a firm expands into a new market, it attracts a larger increase in portfolio allocation...

We study the nature of and outcomes from coordinated engagements by a prominent international network of long-term shareholders cooperating to influence firms on environmental and social issues. A two-tier engagement strategy, combining lead investors with supporting investors, is effective in...

Despite the growing importance of institutional investors in global capital markets and the link between bank earnings management and financial crash risk, little is known about institutional investors' role in mitigating bank earnings management. We conduct the first international analysis of...

We document the negative effect of stock liquidity on default risk for a sample of 46 countries. We further find that default risk declines following the introduction of the Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID)—an exogenous shock that increases liquidity. The effect of...

This chapter reviews statutory and court sanctioned private regulatory frameworks affecting the creation of private equity (PE) funds and their primary activity of acquiring corporate enterprises. The chapter reviews U.S. legislation regulating securities, investment companies, and tender...

This paper analyzes how differences in legal origin, judicial efficiency, and investor protection affect firm leverage and earnings volatility across developing countries. Using a large number of developing countries, four main findings are highlighted. First, firms in civil legal origin...

Wealth transfer effects between stockholders and bondholders on the announcement date of changes in a firm's credit rating have primarily been examined a) for one type of security; b) on US capital markets; and c) by applying standard event study methods. In contrast to these investigations, we...