Research and publications

The Law and Economics of Self-Dealing

This paper presents a new measure of legal protection of minority shareholders against expropriation by corporate insiders: the anti-self-dealing index. Assembled with the help of Lex Mundi law firms, the index is calculated for 72 countries based on legal rules prevailing in 2003, and focuses on private enforcement mechanisms, such as disclosure, approval, and litigation, governing a specific self-dealing transaction. This theoretically-grounded index predicts a variety of stock market outcomes, and generally works better than the previously introduced index of anti-director rights. A revisited version of this paper was published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Financial Economics.

Author(s):

Simeon Djankov, Rafael La Porta, Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, Andrei Shleifer

Summary:

This paper presents a new measure of legal protection of minority shareholders against expropriation by corporate insiders: the anti-self-dealing index. Assembled with the help of Lex Mundi law firms, the index is calculated for 72 countries based on legal rules prevailing in 2003, and focuses on private enforcement mechanisms, such as disclosure, approval, and litigation, governing a specific self-dealing transaction. This theoretically-grounded index predicts a variety of stock market outcomes, and generally works better than the previously introduced index of anti-director rights. A revisited version of this paper was published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Financial Economics.

Register to download PDF

Register/Log in

Type :	Working paper
Date :	11/06/2006
Keywords :	Corporate Governance

About EDHEC

Operating from campuses in Lille, Nice, Paris, London and Singapore, EDHEC is one of the world’s top 15 business schools. Fully international and directly connected to the business world, EDHEC commands a strong reputation for research excellence and the ability to train entrepreneurs and managers capable of breaking new ground. EDHEC functions as a genuine laboratory of ideas and produces innovative solutions valued by businesses. The School’s teaching is inspired by its research work and a focus on “learning by doing”, all with the aim of equipping people with the skills to succeed in business.

About EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute

Marking the priority assigned by the School to sustainability issues and building on its research programmes exploring the relationships between climate change and finance, EDHEC-Risk Institute became EDHEC-Risk Climate Impact Institute in October 2022. The Institute's mission is to help private and public decision-makers manage climate-related financial risks and make the best use of the financial tools available to transition to low-emission and climate-resilient economies. The Institute’s research programmes explore the relationships between climate change and finance and our key ambition is to become a leading academic reference point for long-term investors, helping them to manage the asset-pricing implications of climate change as well as mitigation and adaptation efforts.