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

11 Pages Posted: 3 May 2023 Last revised: 4 Jan 2024

See all articles by Nathan Atkinson

Nathan Atkinson

University of Wisconsin Law School

Date Written: April 21, 2023

Abstract

Fines imposed for corporate misconduct 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 misconduct when prosecutors take collateral consequences into account when setting fines. I show that in equilibrium, firms will borrow excessively and engage in welfare-decreasing misconduct, 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). Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1791, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4425727 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4425727

Nathan Atkinson (Contact Author)

University of Wisconsin Law School ( email )

975 Bascom Mall
Madison, WI 53706
United States

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