Corporate Finance in Europe: A Survey

34 Pages Posted: 19 Apr 2006

See all articles by Francois Degeorge

Francois Degeorge

University of Lugano - Faculty of Economics; Swiss Finance Institute; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Ernst G. Maug

University of Mannheim Business School; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Date Written: March 23, 2006

Abstract

We survey research on corporate finance in Europe. The ambition is to provide the reader with an overview of what we learned, particularly since the beginning of the 1990s. We focus on two themes: (1) the practice and institutions in Europe are heterogeneous and different from those in the United States, and we identify areas where the gap seems to be narrowing; (2) we wish to draw some more general conclusions with respect to the law and finance paradigm that has dominated recent research on comparative institutional analysis, and the diversity of European institutions seems to present an ideal testing ground for this approach. We find that the ability of the law and finance approach to capture the relevant differences within Europe is often limited. We focus in particular on equity primary markets; privatizations; cross-listings; capital structure and payout policy; Mergers and acquisitions; business groups, pyramids and dual class shares; and valuation and the cost of capital.

Keywords: Corporate Finance, Europe

JEL Classification: G30, G15

Suggested Citation

Degeorge, Francois and Maug, Ernst G., Corporate Finance in Europe: A Survey (March 23, 2006). ECGI - Finance Working Paper No. 121/2006, Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper No. 06-17, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=896518 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.896518

Francois Degeorge (Contact Author)

University of Lugano - Faculty of Economics ( email )

via Giuseppe Buffi 13
CH-6904 Lugano
Switzerland
41 58 666 4634 (Phone)
41 58 666 4647 (Fax)

Swiss Finance Institute

c/o University of Geneva
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
CH-1211 Geneva 4
Switzerland

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

Ernst G. Maug

University of Mannheim Business School ( email )

L9, 1-2
Mannheim, 68131
Germany
+49 621 181-1952 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://cf.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/de/people/maug/

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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