Corporate Ownership Around the World

59 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2000 Last revised: 10 Aug 2022

See all articles by Rafael La Porta

Rafael La Porta

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes

SKEMA Business School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Andrei Shleifer

Harvard University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: June 1998

Abstract

We present data on ownership structures of large corporations in 27 wealthy economies, making an effort to identify ultimate controlling shareholders of these firms. We find that, except in economies with very good shareholder protection, relatively few of these firms are widely-held, in contrast to the Berle and Means image of ownership of the modern corporation. Rather, these firms are typically controlled by families or the State. Equity control by financial institutions or other widely-held corporations is less common. The controlling shareholders typically have the power over firms significantly in excess of their cash flow rights, primarily through the use of pyramids and participation in management. The results suggest that the principal agency problem in large corporations around the world is that of restricting expropriation of minority shareholders by the controlling shareholders, rather than that of restricting empire building by professional managers unaccountable to shareholders.

Suggested Citation

La Porta, Rafael and Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio and Shleifer, Andrei, Corporate Ownership Around the World (June 1998). NBER Working Paper No. w6625, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=226343

Rafael La Porta (Contact Author)

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business ( email )

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Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes

SKEMA Business School ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Andrei Shleifer

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

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