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Corporate Governance in Latin America

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Author Info
Alberto Chong ()
Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes

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Abstract

This paper analyzes recent trends in Latin America’s institutional development regarding to investor protection. In spite of the underdevelopment of the region’s financial markets, there is slow movement towards legal reforms intended to protect investors and make regional markets more attractive to investors; current inadequacies in the region’s legal institution’s generate high levels of ownership concentration, poor access to external equity financing, and narrow equity markets. The evidence in this paper, based on firm-level data for six countries, shows that, like legal protection of investors, appropriate firm-level corporate governance is linked to lower costs for capital, better valuation, performance, and dividend payments across countries. Firms can compensate for their countries’ legal deficiencies by distinguishing themselves through improved corporate governance practices, thus increasing transparency and limiting potential conflict between large and minority shareholders. Firms can additionally look for capital by issuing ADRs, as they have in recent years, although this practice undermines local capital markets. In the end, firms and regulators must improve their governance structures and shareholder protections if they are to meet the improved benchmarks of developed nations brought about by Asian, European, and U. S. scandals in recent years.

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Paper provided by Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department in its series RES Working Papers with number 4494.

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Date of creation: Mar 2007
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Handle: RePEc:idb:wpaper:4494

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  12. William A. Reese, Jr. & Michael S. Weisbach, 2001. "Protection of Minority Shareholder Interests, Cross-listings in the United States, and Subsequent Equity Offerings," NBER Working Papers 8164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Randall Morck & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1989. "Characteristics of Hostile and Friendly Takeover Targets," NBER Working Papers 2295, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Claessens, Stijn & Klingebiel, Daniela & Schmukler, Sergio L., 2006. "Stock market development and internationalization: Do economic fundamentals spur both similarly?," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 316-350, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Stijn Claessens & Joseph P. H. Fan, 2002. "Corporate Governance in Asia: A Survey," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 3(2), pages 71-103. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. James M. Poterba & Mark J. Warshawsky, 1999. "The Costs of Annuitizing Retirement Payouts from Individual Accounts," NBER Working Papers 6918, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  23. Stephen R. Foerster & G. Andrew Karolyi, 1999. "The Effects of Market Segmentation and Investor Recognition on Asset Prices: Evidence from Foreign Stocks Listing in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(3), pages 981-1013, 06. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  27. Klapper, Leora F. & Love, Inessa, 2002. "Corporate governance, investor protection, and performance in emerging markets," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2818, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
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  28. Carlos Pombo & Luis H. Gutiérrez, 2007. "Corporate Governance and Firm Valuation in Colombia," RES Working Papers 4470, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  29. Paul Gompers & Joy Ishii & Andrew Metrick, 2003. "Corporate Governance And Equity Prices," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 118(1), pages 107-155, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  30. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-88, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alberto Chong & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes, 2007. "Gobierno Corporativo en América Latina," RES Working Papers 4495, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department. [Downloadable!]
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