This book is a compendium of contributions from accomplished authors, which examines how Commonwealth member states have achieved a degree of consensus in developing and promoting standards of corporate governance both in the public and the private sectors and how they are tackling the problem of corruption.

Corporate governance initiatives have been developing at a rapid pace in the Commonwealth Caribbean through legislation, case law and codes. Commonwealth Caribbean Corporate Governance offers an overview of current practice and legal developments in corporate governance, highlighting the interpretation of the legislation through case law and the codes of corporate governance which have now been implemented. It also considers the challenges which emerging markets face in an attempt to adopt the corporate governance initiatives of developed markets. This text explores the emergence and development of corporate governance in the region from a range of angles, including the protection and empowerment of shareholders, the impact on government agencies, and the role and responsibilities of directors and officers in companies and in government agencies. Written by a panel of academics, legal practitioners and experts working in business, this book will be an invaluable resource for judges, lawyers, corporate executives and students of business, corporate law and corporate management.

The central role that good, effective and capable governance plays in the economic and social development of a country is now widely recognised. Using the Commonwealth countries of eastern and southern Africa, this book analyses some of the key constitutional issues in the process of developing, strengthening and consolidating the capacity of states to ensure the good governance of their peoples. Utilising comparative material, the book seeks to draw lessons, both positive and negative, about the problems of constitutionalism in the region and, in doing so, critically addresses the legal issues involved in seeking to make constitutions 'work' in practice.

The last Asian financial crisis, coupled with the western series of corporate scandals, has caused investors and citizens to doubt mangers ability to guarantee credible financial information about organizations. Consequently, legislators all over the world have come to realise the necessity of legislating in the area of corporate governance.

This research handbook provides a state-of-the-art perspective on how corporate governance differs between countries around the world. It covers highly topical issues including corporate purpose, corporate social responsibility and shareholder activism.

For many Americans, capitalism is a dynamic engine of prosperity that rewards the bold, the daring, and the hardworking. But to many outside the United States, capitalism seems like an initiative that serves only to concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few hereditary oligarchies. As A History of Corporate Governance around the World shows, neither conception is wrong. In this volume, some of the brightest minds in the field of economics present new empirical research that suggests that each side of the debate has something to offer the other. Free enterprise and well-developed financial systems are proven to produce growth in those countries that have them. But research also suggests that in some other capitalist countries, arrangements truly do concentrate corporate ownership in the hands of a few wealthy families. A History of Corporate Governance around the World provides historical studies of the patterns of corporate governance in several countries-including the large industrial economies of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States; larger developing economies like China and India; and alternative models like those of the Netherlands and Sweden.

The corporate governance systems of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States are often characterized as a single 'Anglo-American' system prioritizing shareholders' interests over those of other corporate stakeholders. Such generalizations, however, obscure substantial differences across the common-law world. Contrary to popular belief, shareholders in the United Kingdom and jurisdictions following its lead are far more powerful and central to the aims of the corporation than are shareholders in the United States. This book presents a new comparative theory to explain this divergence and explores the theory's ramifications for law and public policy. Bruner argues that regulatory structures affecting other stakeholders' interests - notably differing degrees of social welfare protection for employees - have decisively impacted the degree of political opposition to shareholder-centric policies across the common-law world. These dynamics remain powerful forces today, and understanding them will be vital as post-crisis reforms continue to take shape.

This major Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the development of corporate governance across a range of countries including Australia, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and the UK. Whilst the stage in the corporate governance life cycle may vary from country to country, there are certain core features which emerge such as the importance of transparency, disclosure, accountability of directors and protection of minority shareholders rights. With contributions by leading academics and practitioners in the field of corporate governance, the Handbook on International Corporate Governance provides an eloquent insight into the evolution of corporate governance in countries with diverse cultural, economic and legal systems.

This book aims to show that a strong and achieving public service is a necessary condition for a competitively successful nation. The concept of good governance is linked with institutionalised values such as democracy, observance of human rights and greater effectiveness of the public sector.

Annotation This report points the way to the establishment of trust and the encouragement of enterprise. It marks an important milestone in the development of corporate governance, and I cannot commend it too highly.--Sir Adrian Cadbury, London Recently, in Russia, a large share of the profits of an oil company was siphoned off by its controlling shareholder, leaving the company in debt to its creditors, employees, and the state. In the Czech Republic, millions of small shareholders lost their right to fair capital gains as tunneling schemes by insiders stripped privatized companies of their assets. Increasingly for developing and transition economies, a healthy and competitive corporate sector is fundamental for sustained and shared growth-sustained in that it withstands economic shocks, shared in that it delivers benefits to all of society. Presently, many developing and transition economies lack the supporting institutions and human resources so critical to sound corporate governance. The challenge for them is to adapt systems of corporate governance to their own corporate structures and implementation capacities, public and private, to create a culture of enforcement and compliance. For the first time, this report incorporates a framework that encompasses the widely differing regimes--political, economic, and social-within which corporations carry on their activities around the world. It recognizes the complexity of the concept of corporate governance and therefore focuses on the principles on which it is based.