Corporate Governance

Zingales, Luigi

doi:10.2139/ssrn.46906

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Corporate Governance

The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law, 1998

20 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 1998

See all articles by Luigi Zingales

Luigi Zingales

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

There are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

This essay summarizes my own personal view of what corporate governance is about. I argue that it makes sense to discuss corporate governance only in an incomplete contract world. In this world, the notion of corporate governance is intrinsically related to the definition of the firm. In this respect, I review the shortcomings of the existing definitions of the firm and the possible applications of the idea that the firm is a "nexus of specific investments" introduced by Rajan and Zingales (1997 and 1998). I conclude discussing the limitations of the incomplete contracts approach to corporate governance.

JEL Classification: G3

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Zingales, Luigi, Corporate Governance. The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law, 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=46906 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.46906