The paper first investigates the causes of the recent financial and liquidity crisis in the US and all over the world as a preliminary phase of the imminent recession. It then questions Paulson-Bernanke’s plan as a solution to the crisis and ponders over the differences between EU plan and the...

In view of recent corporate scandals, it is argued that corporate governance can learn from public governance. Institutions devised to control and discipline the behaviour of executives in the political sphere can give new insights into how to improve the governance of firms. Some proposal such...

We identify two opposing effects of issuing equity with tag-along rights that secure an equal price in the event of a takeover. First, the anti-self dealing effect commits controlling owners to sell only to new owners that increase shareholder value. Second, the rent transfer effect shifts rents...

We analyze the impact of a 75 pct. Break-Through rule on 1,035 European firms with dual class <p> shares. In 3-5 pct. of the firms the controlling owners incur a direct loss of control, whereas in <p> additional 11-17 pct. of the firms the controlling owners are likely to incur a control loss. Firms...</p></p>

The legal environment is one important determinant of corporate governance. However,  within  legal families,  also cultural  differences can explain the level of corporate governance to some extent. We analyze this relationship for the case of Switzerland.  Swiss firms  are mainly located...

This article provides a framework for analysing the character and degree of ownership engagement by institutional investors.It argues that the general term “institutional investor” in itself doesn’t say very much about the quality or degree of ownership engagement. It is therefore an...

Privatisation is the major component in all the transition processes carried out in the Central and East European countries. With different pace and scale across the counties, it took distinct, sometimes even opposing forms. Nevertheless, almost all these countries have developed processes of...

Privatisation is the major component in all the transition processes carried out in the Central and East European countries. With different pace and scale across the counties, it took distinct, sometimes even opposing forms. The volume presents the results from a comparative research on mass...

In this study, we examine the wealth effects of regulatory changes intended to improve corporate governance by protecting minority shareholders from expropriation by controlling shareholders. Using data from publicly traded Chinese firms, we find that these new regulations significantly...

The paper presents the actual ownership structure of public companies in Bulgaria on the basis of a survey of 104 of the companies traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange. It discusses as well the problems of disclosure of ownership information, focusing on the transposition of the EC Large...