Corporate Law and Governance

Authors

Marco Becht, Université Libre de Bruxells
Patrick Bolton, Columbia Business SchoolFollow
Ailsa Röell, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2007

Abstract

This chapter surveys the theoretical and empirical research on the main mechanisms of corporate law and governance, discusses the main legal and regulatory institutions in different countries, and examines the comparative governance literature. Corporate governance is concerned with the reconciliation of conflicts of interest between various corporate claimholders and the resolution of collective action problems among dispersed investors. A fundamental dilemma of corporate governance emerges from this overview: large shareholder intervention needs to be regulated to guarantee better small investor protection; but this may increase managerial discretion and scope for abuse. Alternative methods of limiting abuse have yet to be proven effective.

Disciplines

Business Organizations Law | Law

Recommended Citation

Marco Becht, Patrick Bolton & Ailsa Röell, Corporate Law and Governance, 2 Handbook of Law and Economics, A. Mitchell Polinsky & Steven Shavell (Eds.), Elsevier (2007).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/contract_economic_organization/13