Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Diversity in the Boardroom is Important and, Unfortunately, Still Rare

Editor’s Note: Luis A. Aguilar is a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This post is based on Commissioner Aguilar’s remarks at a recent forum titled “Closing the Gender Gap: Global Perspectives on Women in the Boardroom;” his complete remarks are available here. The views expressed in the post are those of Commissioner […]

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Posted in Boards of Directors, Regulators Materials, Speeches & Testimony | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Access to the Mutual Fund Proxy

One topic missing from the early analysis of the SEC’s proxy access rulemaking [1] has been mutual funds as issuers. Though, a few experts have recognized the importance of mutual funds as shareholders. For example, Ira Millstein and Stephen Davis welcomed proxy access and noted that it “places a colossal bet that shareholders will patrol […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Corporate Elections & Voting, Institutional Investors, Legislative & Regulatory Developments | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Most Influential People in Corporate Governance

A review of the most recent Directorship 100 list – a list of the most influential people in corporate governance put together each year by Directorship magazine – indicates that individuals affiliated with Harvard Law School and its Program on Corporate Governance play a central role in the corporate governance landscape. This year’s Directorship 100 […]

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The Market Reaction to Corporate Governance Regulation

In the paper, The Market Reaction to Corporate Governance Regulation, which was recently made publicly available on SSRN, we investigate the market reaction to recent legislative and regulatory actions pertaining to corporate governance. The managerial power view of governance suggests that executive pay, the existing process of proxy access, and various governance provisions (e.g., staggered […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Empirical Research, Financial Regulation, Legislative & Regulatory Developments | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Moving Forward with Corporate Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosure in Canada

Whether the issue is climate change, biodiversity, labour and supply chains, or human rights, corporate sustainability disclosure is of increasing relevance to shareholders.  In a recent report submitted to Ontario, Canada’s minister of finance, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) made various recommendations regarding corporate reporting that may be controversial to some, but are a step […]

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Posted in Corporate Social Responsibility, International Corporate Governance & Regulation, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Shadow Banking and Financial Regulation

Without a safety net, banking is unstable. This proposition finds support in economic theory. In an influential analysis, Douglas Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig showed that banks without deposit insurance exhibit multiple equilibria—one of which is a bank run. [1] And financial history confirms this hypothesis. Banking panics were common in the U.S. before the […]

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Posted in Academic Research, Banking & Financial Institutions, Bankruptcy & Financial Distress | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

CEO Turnover and Retention Light

In the paper, CEO Turnover and Retention Light: Retaining Former CEOs on the Board, forthcoming in the Journal of Accounting Research, unlike prior CEO turnover literature which characterizes the board’s decision as a choice between retaining versus replacing the CEO, we focus instead on the CEO’s decision rights and introduce a third option in which […]

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Shareholder Proxy Access: Time To Get Ready

As we described in our recent memo, the SEC has adopted rules affording shareholders access to company proxy statements for the nomination of director candidates. The new regime, which includes new access Rule 14a-11 and amendments to Rule 14a-8, is expected to become effective in early November and will be applicable for the 2011 proxy […]

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Posted in Boards of Directors, Corporate Elections & Voting, Legislative & Regulatory Developments, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Managerial Miscalibration

In the paper, Managerial Miscalibration, which was recently made publicly available on SSRN, we study whether top corporate executives are miscalibrated as well as the determinants of their miscalibration. Miscalibration is a form of overconfidence examined in psychology, economics, and law. Although it is often analyzed in lab experiments, there is scant evidence about the […]

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Spotlight on Boards

Current focus on the performance of corporate boards prompts revisiting what is expected from the board of directors of a major public company – not just the legal rules, but also the aspirational “best practices” that have come to have almost as much influence on board and company behavior. Boards are expected to: Choose the […]

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Posted in Boards of Directors, Practitioner Publications | Tagged , , | 1 Comment