Corporate Governance Convergence: Lessons from the Indian Experience

69 Pages Posted: 3 Jun 2009 Last revised: 29 Jun 2009

See all articles by Afra Afsharipour

Afra Afsharipour

University of California, Davis - School of Law ; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Date Written: June 3, 2009

Abstract

Over the past two decades, corporate governance reforms have emerged as a central focus of corporate law in countries across the development spectrum. Various legal scholars studying these reform efforts have engaged in a vigorous debate about whether globalization will lead to convergence of corporate governance laws toward one model of governance: namely the Anglo-American, dispersed shareholder model, or whether existing national characteristics will thwart convergence. Despite rapid economic growth and reforms in developing countries such as India, the legal literature discussing this debate primarily focuses on developed economies.

This Article examines recent corporate governance reforms in India as a case study for evaluating the competing claims on global convergence of corporate governance standards currently polarizing the field of corporate law. This Article seeks to make a fresh contribution to the convergence debate by examining the implications of India's corporate governance reform efforts. It contends that the Indian experience demonstrates that traditional theories predicting convergence, or a lack thereof, fail to fully capture the trajectory of actual corporate governance reforms. India's reform efforts demonstrate that while corporate governance rules may converge on a formal level with Anglo-American corporate governance norms, local characteristics tend to prevent reforms from being more than merely formal. India's inability to effectively implement and enforce its extensive new rules corroborates the argument that comprehensive convergence is limited, and that the transmission of ideas from one system to another is highly complex and difficult, requiring political, social and institutional changes that cannot be made easily.

Keywords: India, Clause 49, Corporate Governance, Convergence, Listing Agreement

Suggested Citation

Afsharipour, Afra, Corporate Governance Convergence: Lessons from the Indian Experience (June 3, 2009). Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business, Vol. 29, No. 2, 2009, UC Davis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 181, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1413859

Afra Afsharipour (Contact Author)

University of California, Davis - School of Law ( email )

Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall
Davis, CA CA 95616-5201
United States

HOME PAGE: http://law.ucdavis.edu/people/afra-afsharipour

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://www.ecgi.global/users/afra-afsharipour

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