Law, politics and the governance of English and Scottish joint-stock companies 1600-1850

Freeman, M., Pearson, R. and Taylor, J. (2013) Law, politics and the governance of English and Scottish joint-stock companies 1600-1850. Business History, 55(4), (doi: 10.1080/00076791.2012.741971)

Abstract

This article examines the impact of law on corporate governance by means of a case study of joint-stock enterprise in England and Scotland before 1850. Based on a dataset of over 450 company constitutions together with qualitative information on governance practice, it finds little evidence to support the hypothesis that common-law regimes such as England were more supportive of economic growth than civil-law jurisdictions such as Scotland: indeed, levels of shareholder protection were slightly stronger in the civil-law zone. Other factors, such as local political institutions, played a bigger role in shaping organisational forms and business practice.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Freeman, Dr Mark
• Authors: Freeman, M., Pearson, R., and Taylor, J.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Economic and Social History
• Journal Name: Business History
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• ISSN: 0007-6791
• ISSN (Online): 1743-7938
• Published Online: 15 January 2013
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2013 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Business History 55:4
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher