Mandatory Equity Issuances as a First-Best Solution to Punishing Corporate Misconduct

17 Pages Posted: 3 May 2023

See all articles by Nathan Atkinson

Nathan Atkinson

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Date Written: April 21, 2023

Abstract

Corporate liability may lead to insolvency. Prosecutors who are concerned with job losses following insolvency may reduce liability in order to limit collateral consequences. In this article I analyze firms' choices of financing and malfeasance when decision makers take collateral consequences into account. I show that in equilibrium, firms will borrow excessively and engage in welfare-decreasing malfeasance, and prosecutors will impose insufficient liability to deter corporations. I show that the first-best can be achieved by mandating the firms pay liability through equity issuances.

Keywords: Corporate Liability, Collateral Consequences, Law and Economics, Corporate Finance

JEL Classification: K13, K20, K42, G32

Suggested Citation

Atkinson, Nathan, Mandatory Equity Issuances as a First-Best Solution to Punishing Corporate Misconduct (April 21, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4425727 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4425727

Nathan Atkinson (Contact Author)

University of Wisconsin - Madison ( email )

975 Bascom Mall
Madison, WI 53706
United States

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