This book provides an insightful view of major issues in the economics of corporate governance (CG) and mergers. It presents a systematic update on the developments in the two fields during the last decade, as well as highlighting the neglected topics in CG research, such as the role of boards, CG and public interest and the relation of CG to mergers. Two important conclusions can be drawn from this book: the first is that corporate governance systems that better align shareholders and managers interests lead to better corporate performance; second, there is an important relationship between CG structures and the quality of firm decision-making, one of the most important being the decision to merge or take over another firm. Focusing on some of the often-neglected aspects of corporate governance such as non-profit organizations and public interest, as well as mergers and acquisitions from a CG perspective, this book will be a valuable resource for both academics and postgraduate students of finance, business and economics.

The Handbook of the Economics of Corporate Governance, Volume One, covers all issues important to economists. It is organized around fundamental principles, whereas multidisciplinary books on corporate governance often concentrate on specific topics. Specific topics include Relevant Theory and Methods, Organizational Economic Models as They Pertain to Governance, Managerial Career Concerns, Assessment & Monitoring, and Signal Jamming, The Institutions and Practice of Governance, The Law and Economics of Governance, Takeovers, Buyouts, and the Market for Control, Executive Compensation, Dominant Shareholders, and more. Providing excellent overviews and summaries of extant research, this book presents advanced students in graduate programs with details and perspectives that other books overlook. Concentrates on underlying principles that change little, even as the empirical literature moves on Helps readers see corporate governance systems as interrelated or even intertwined external (country-level) and internal (firm-level) forces Reviews the methodological tools of the field (theory and empirical), the most relevant models, and the field’s substantive findings, all of which help point the way forward

In this timely book, the law and economics of corporate governance is approached from a range of angles. This study reveals that perspectives are changing: they differ between the economic and the legal standpoint; they vary across countries; they evolve over time. A group of leading scholars offer their views some provide fresh empirical evidence on existing theories and others attempt to develop new theoretical insights based on empirical puzzles. They all analyse the economics of corporate governance with a view to how it should, or should not, be regulated. Economic analysis of law proves to be the common language for understanding corporate governance on both sides of the Atlantic. The law and economics approach is applied to topical issues in the international debate, such as the harmonization of company laws; regulatory competition; determinants of separation of ownership and control; enforcement of investor protection; and the political economy of corporate governance.

The book examines the market reaction to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) announcements over a period from 2003 to 2015. Mergers and acquisitions continue to be amongst the preferred competitive options available to the companies seeking to grow fast in the rapidly changing global business scenario. M&A as a growth strategy has received attention from developed as well as emerging economies. It has been extensively used by managers as an expansion strategy and also serves as an important instrument for increasing corporate efficiency. Recently, M&A has grown at a rapid pace, creating a need for research to analyze what drives this phenomenon and how it affects firms and markets. As such, this book evaluates the impact of M&A on short-term abnormal returns as well long-term financial performance. It also assesses the management view concerning the motives for undertaking M&A. In addition, the book investigates the corporate governance practices of the acquiring firms and their impact on the short- term as well as long- term performance of those firms.

Ruud. A. I. van Frederikslust, Associate Professor of Finance, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam James S. Ang, Bank of America Eminent Scholar, Professor of Finance, College of Business, The Florida State University Sudi Sudarsanam, Professor of Finance & Corporate Control, School of Management, Cranfield University Ruud. A. I. van Frederikslust, Associate Professor of Finance, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam. He joined Rotterdam School of Management as Associate Professor of Finance 1984 from the Inter-University Graduate School of Management, The Netherlands, where he was Associate Professor of Finance. He is author of the work Predictability of Corporate Failure (Kluwer Academic Publishers). And editor in chief of the volume of collection: Mergers & Acquisitions (in Dutch) and of the volume Corporate Restructuring and Recovery (in Dutch) (Reed Elsevier LexisNexis). He has participated in the organizations of leading conferences in Europe and the USA and presented there also numerous research papers at the conferences. He has published in leading journals like the Multinational Finance Journal and the Journal of Financial Transformation. He was a member of the Board of the European Finance Association. James S. Ang, Bank of America Eminent Scholar, Professor of Finance, College of Business, Florida State University. He joined the College of Business, of Florida State University as a Professor of Finance in 1998 from Barnett Bank Chair Professor of Finance, Florida State University. His main areas of research interest are amongst others, in corporate restructuring, corporate governance and control. He has published extensively in leading academic journals like Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, The Bell Journal of Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, and The Review of Economics and Statistics. And he is a member (current and past) of the Editorial Board of several of these Journals. He is amongst others a member of the Board of Trustees of the Financial Management Association and formerly he was a member of the Board of Directors of the European Financial Management Association. Sudi Sudarsanam, Professor of Finance & Corporate Control, School of Management, Cranfield University. He joined Cranfield as Professor of Finance and Corporate Control on the 1 January 2000 from City University Business School where he was Professor of Finance and Accounting. His original commercial background was in banking and international trade finance. Sudi’s main areas of research interest are in corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions and corporate strategy, adopting a multidisciplinary approach. He is one of the leading authorities on mergers and acquisitions in Europe and author of The Essence of Mergers and Acquisitions (Prentice Hall), translated into five European and Asian languages. His recent book, Creating value from mergers and acquisitions: the challenges, an international and integrated perspective (FT Prentice Hall, 2003, pp613) has been widely acclaimed by both academics and practitioners and is considered a standard work on M & A. He has been a visiting professor at US and European business schools. He has been an expert commentator on mergers and acquisitions on radio and television and in the print media. Sudi has also published articles in top US and European journals on corporate restructuring, corporate governance and valuation of intellectual assets.

Volume 17 of Advances in Financial Economics, entitled "Corporate Governance in the US and Global Settings" will provide further insights into corporate governance in the US & global economic and financial environment by publishing international, within-country and cross-country comparative studies.

Over the past decades, the total value of executive compensation packages has been rising dramatically, contributing to a wider pay gap between the chief executive officer and the average worker. In the midst of the financial turmoil that brought about a massive wave of corporate failures, the lavish executive compensation package has come under an intense spotlight. Public pressure has mounted to revise the levels and the structure of executive pay in a way that will tie more closely the executive wealth to that of shareholders. Merger and acquisition (M&A) activities represent an opportune setting for gauging whether shareholder value creation or managerial opportunism guides executive compensation. M&As constitute major examples of high-profile events prompted by managers who typically conceive them as a means for achieving higher levels of pay, even though they are frequently associated with disappointing returns to acquiring shareholders. Mergers and Acquisitions and Executive Compensation reviews the existing empirical evidence and provides an integrative framework for the growing body of literature that is situated at the intersection of two highly debated topics: M&A activities and executive compensation. The proposed framework structures the literature along two dimensions, such as M&A phases and firm’s role in a M&A deal, allowing readers to identify three main streams of research and five different conceptualizations of causal relationships between M&A transactions and executive compensation. The book makes a comprehensive review of empirical studies conducted to date, aiming to shed more light on the current and emerging knowledge in this field of investigation, discuss the inconsistencies encountered within each stream of research, and suggest promising directions for further exploration. This book will appeal to researchers and students alike in the fields of organizational behavior and governance as well as accounting and accountability.