Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/67865
Year of Publication: 
2010
Series/Report no.: 
Queen's Economics Department Working Paper No. 1243
Publisher: 
Queen's University, Department of Economics, Kingston (Ontario)
Abstract: 
Berle and Means's analysis of the corporation - in particular, their view that those in control are not the owners of the corporation - raises questions about actions that corporations take to counter concerns regarding management's influence. What mechanisms, if any, do corporations implement to balance the distribution of power in the corporation? To address this question, we analyze boards of directors' propensity to voluntarily adopt recommended corporate governance practices. Because board independence is one way to enhance shareholders' ability to monitor management, we probe whether firms with independent boards of directors (which we define as boards with either an independent chair or a majority of independent directors) are more likely than firms without independent boards to adopt these practices. We focus on boards' willingness to monitor their firms' agents, examining the relationship between board independence and the voluntary adoption of corporate governance guidelines.
Subjects: 
Corporate Governance
Agency Costs
Monitoring
Independent Boards
JEL: 
D0
G0
K0
L0
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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