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Directors' and officers' liability insurance and investment efficiency: Evidence from Taiwan

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  • Li, Kuei-Fu
  • Liao, Yi-Ping

Abstract

Prior studies suggest that directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance induces moral hazard and reduces incentives on behalf of stockholders. As a result, we argue that purchasing D&O insurance exhibits lower investment efficiency. Using data from Taiwan between 2008 and 2010, which is mandatorily disclosed and thus serves as an ideal sample, we test for an adverse relation between D&O insurance and investment efficiency and explore factors that affect the magnitude of that adverse relation. The results show that the level of D&O insurance coverage is positively associated with over-investment. Further analyses suggest that the positive association is more pronounced in firms with lower levels of director ownership or institutional holdings and weakened when firms purchase from domestic rather than foreign insurers. Overall, we conclude that D&O insurance has an impact on corporate investment decisions, especially in terms of over-investment, and that better corporate governance mechanisms help mitigate the inefficiency problems caused by D&O insurance.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Kuei-Fu & Liao, Yi-Ping, 2014. "Directors' and officers' liability insurance and investment efficiency: Evidence from Taiwan," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 18-34.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:pacfin:v:29:y:2014:i:c:p:18-34
    DOI: 10.1016/j.pacfin.2014.03.001
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    4. Mani Motameni, 2015. "Private Insurance and Income Inequality in Iran," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 5(3), pages 418-425, March.
    5. Ting Wang & Rujun Wang & Hua Zhang, 2022. "Does Industrial Policy Reduce Corporate Investment Efficiency? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Faisal Shahzad & Ijaz Ur Rehman & Faisal Nawaz & Noman Nawab, 2018. "Does family control explain why corporate social responsibility affects investment efficiency?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(5), pages 880-888, September.
    7. Su, Xuan-Qi, 2023. "Directors' and Officers' liability insurance and cross section of expected stock returns: A mispricing explanation," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Jui-I Chang & Chen-Ying Lee & Geng-Yu Lin, 2021. "Real earnings management and borrowing costs: The moderating effect of the directors’ and officers' liability insurance," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 11(5), pages 1-3.
    9. Chia-Chung Chan & Yung-Ho Chang & Chia-wei Chen & Yuwei Wang, 2019. "Directors’ liability insurance and investment-cash flow sensitivity," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 43(1), pages 27-43, January.
    10. Tadesse Getacher Engida & Christopher F. Parmeter & Xudong Rao & Alfons G.J.M. Oude Lansink, 2022. "Investment Inefficiency and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 95-108, August.
    11. Huang, Rachel J. & Jeng, Vivian & Wang, Cheng-Wei & Yue, Jack C., 2021. "Does size and book-to-market contain intangible information about managerial incentives? Learning from corporate D&O insurance purchase," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    12. Ruqia Shaikh & Guo Fei & Muhammad Shaique & Muhammad Rizwan Nazir, 2019. "Control-Enhancing Mechanisms and Earnings Management: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-23, August.
    13. Meng-Chi Chueh & Shen-Ho Chang, 2022. "Effects of Directors and Officers Insurance on Earnings Management Strategies: Moderating Role of Restatement Announcements," International Journal of Business and Economic Sciences Applied Research (IJBESAR), International Hellenic University (IHU), Kavala Campus, Greece (formerly Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology - EMaTTech), vol. 15(1), pages 71-93, July.
    14. Irfan Ullah & Muhammad Ansar Majeed & Hong-Xing Fang & Muhammad Arif Khan, 2020. "Female CEOs and investment efficiency: evidence from an emerging economy," Pacific Accounting Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(4), pages 443-474, November.
    15. Sophie Wang, Qing & Lai, Shaojie & Pi, Shuwen & Anderson, Hamish, 2022. "Does directors' and officers' liability insurance induce empire building? Evidence from corporate labor investment," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    16. Meng, Qingbin & Zhong, Ziya & Li, Xinyu & Wang, Song, 2023. "What protects me also makes me behave: The role of directors' and officers' liability insurance on empire-building managers in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Luo, Yan & Krivogorsky, Victoria, 2017. "The materiality of directors' and officers' insurance information: Case for disclosure," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 69-74.
    18. Derrick W. H. Fung & Jason J. H. Yeh, 2018. "Inherent Virtue or Inevitable Evil: The Effects of Directors' and Officers' Insurance on Firm Value," Risk Management and Insurance Review, American Risk and Insurance Association, vol. 21(2), pages 243-288, September.
    19. Lin, Feng-Yi & Guan, Liming & Ho, Chia-Ling & Wang, Teng-Shih, 2022. "Examining the D&O insurance effect on managerial ability," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PA).
    20. Chen, Li-Yueh & Chen, Yu-Fen & Yang, Sheng-Yung, 2017. "Managerial incentives and R&D investments: The moderating effect of the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 210-222.
    21. Liao, Tsai-Ling & Chuang, Hwei-Lin & Wang, Jo-Yu, 2022. "Directors' and officers’ liability insurance and the pricing of seasoned equity offerings," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 12-26.
    22. Li, Tianshi & Yang, Tina & Zhu, Jigao, 2022. "Directors’ and officers’ liability insurance: Evidence from independent directors’ voting," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    23. Jiang, Dequan & Li, Weiping & Shen, Yongjian & Zhang, Ying, 2022. "Does air quality affect firms’ investment efficiency? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-17.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Directors' and officers' (D&O) insurance; Corporate governance; Insurance companies; Investment efficiency; Managerial opportunism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies; Actuarial Studies
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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