Comparative Corporate Governance

Abstract

This entry for the Palgrave dictionary looks at the recent literature on comparative corporate governance. I examine reasons for the upswing in interest in comparative corporate governance, what the principal national differences seem to be, how different nations pursue different purposes through their corporate governance systems, and what we might learn (and already have learned) about structure, political differences, and convergence in corporate governance systems. I conclude by mentioning some potential pitfalls in comparative scholarship, such as selection bias, inattention to complementarities, and ad hoc comparisons, and I briefly suggest a research agenda.

JEL Classification: G34