Corporate governance and the distribution of wealth: A political-economy perspective

E.C. Perotti*, E.-L. Von Thadden

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    We present a. theory in which the corporate governance structure in a country is determined by a political majority and show how this decision is related to the distribution of financial wealth. The main argument is that labor claims are exposed to undiversitiable risk, so voters with small financial stakes may prefer a corporate governance structure that reduces corporate risktaking. We discuss the inflationary experiences of different countries in the first part of the twentieth century and argue that the model may explain the "great reversal" phenomenon identified by RAJAN AND ZINGALES [2003].
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)204-217
    JournalJournal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics
    Volume162
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2006

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