Disappearing Paradigms in Shareholder Protection: Leximetric Evidence for 30 Countries, 1990-2013

Journal of Corporate Law Studies vol. 15 (2015), pp. 127-160

57 Pages Posted: 18 Mar 2015 Last revised: 9 Nov 2015

See all articles by Dionysia Katelouzou

Dionysia Katelouzou

King's College London - The Dickson Poon School of Law; Transnational Law Institute

Mathias Siems

European University Institute (EUI); University of Cambridge - Centre for Business Research; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Date Written: March 17, 2015

Abstract

Scholars frequently claim that path dependency of the law, the influence of the US model of corporate governance, and the role of legal origin and the stage of legal development are key for a comparative understanding of shareholder protection. This article, however, suggests that these paradigms of comparative company law gradually seem to disappear. The basis for our assessment is an original leximetric dataset that measures the development of shareholder protection for 30 countries over the last 24 years. Using tools of descriptive statistics, time series and cluster analysis, our main findings are that all legal origins have now in average about the same level of shareholder protection, that paternalistic tools have overtaken enabling tools of protection, and that after the global financial crisis this area has become a less frequent object of law reforms.

Keywords: shareholder protection, corporate governance, company law, legal origin, leximetrics, legal transplants

JEL Classification: C38, F68, G38, K22, N20, N40, P50

Suggested Citation

Katelouzou, Dionysia and Siems, Mathias, Disappearing Paradigms in Shareholder Protection: Leximetric Evidence for 30 Countries, 1990-2013 (March 17, 2015). Journal of Corporate Law Studies vol. 15 (2015), pp. 127-160 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2579832 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2579832

Dionysia Katelouzou (Contact Author)

King's College London - The Dickson Poon School of Law ( email )

Somerset House East Wing
Strand
London, London WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Transnational Law Institute ( email )

London, England WC2R 2LS
United Kingdom

Mathias Siems

European University Institute (EUI) ( email )

Via Bolognese 156 (Villa Salviati)
Firenze, 50139
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://www.eui.eu/siems

University of Cambridge - Centre for Business Research ( email )

Top Floor, Judge Business School Building
Trumpington Street
Cambridge, CB2 1AG
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.cbr.cam.ac.uk/people/research-associates/mathias-m-siems/

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

HOME PAGE: http://ecgi.global/users/mathias-siems

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