We examine the effect of securities laws on stock market development in 49 countries. We...

We revisit the debate over whether political institutions cause economic growth, or whether, alternatively, growth...

In the Anglo-American constitutional tradition, judicial checks and balances are often seen as crucial guarantees...

After decades of poor performance and inefficient operations by state-owned enterprises, governments all over the...

We investigate the regulation of labor markets through employment, collective relations, and social security laws...

In cooperation with Lex Mundi member law firms in 109 countries, we measure and describe...

In many countries, banks lend to firms controlled by the bank’s owners. We examine the...

In recent years, the field of comparative economics refocused on the comparison of capitalist economies....

We present a model of the effects of legal protection of minority shareholders and of...

As a result of the emerging market crises of the last decade and a large...

We present new data on the regulation of entry of start-up firms in 85 countries....

This paper addresses the question of why firms pay dividends, the so-called "dividend puzzle," from...

Recent research has documented large differences among countries in ownership concentration in publicly traded firms,...

Tunnelling is defined as the transfer of assets and profits out of firms for the...

We present data on ownership structures of large corporations in 27 wealthy economies, making an...

Criticisms of privatization have centered around the possibility that the observed higher profitability of privatized...

We investigate empirically the determinants of the quality of governments in a large crosssection of...

This paper examines legal rules covering protection of corporate shareholders and creditors, the origin of...

Using a sample of 49 countries, we show that countries with poorer investor protections, measured...