We show that in countries with more societal trust shareholders cast fewer votes at shareholder meetings and are more ….S.-county level and for voting by U.S. institutional investors. Lower monitoring via voting relates less negatively to future firm … negative relation between trust and bond spreads. Our evidence supports theory arguing that trust substitutes for monitoring …

We test the hypothesis whether a specific aspect of culture - trust in others - affects shareholder voting behavior by … substituting for costly monitoring. We find consistent evidence that the percentage of votes cast at shareholder meetings is lower … monitoring when trust is high. …

We test the hypothesis that a specific aspect of culture - trust in others - affects shareholder voting behavior as it … monitoring less when trust is high. …