Comparative Corporate Governance
Full course description
This course familiarizes students with the current debates on corporate governance, blending legal and economic theories as well as insights from psychology, sociology and other social and behavioral sciences to assess the place of the firm in a complex society. The course deals with debates on corporate scandals and corporate governance mechanisms, such as board quotas, the financial crisis and the division of powers between shareholders and the board, but also familiarizes students with various analytical tools to look at the firm in a societal context. Next to this, we look at the difference between self-regulating, soft law and hard law regulation, and involve students in the policy debates surrounding this - on a national and international level. The key questions are: who should be the benefactor of the firm’s activities and how should the firm be governed? In order to answer this question, we will carefully investigate recent changes in corporate governance instruments and critically assess them against the societal changes that brought them about.
Course objectives
Students are able to:
* analyse the firm using different analytical tools from economics, psychology, sociology and other social and behavioral sciences;
* integrate and debate various theories on the role and nature of the firm, and who should be the benefactors of the firm’s activities;
* have a meaningful discussion on the division of powers within the firm;
* take note of the recent discussions in corporate governance, and take their own position;
* answer a research question clearly and concisely within a given timeframe.
Prerequisites
Students are expected to have followed a previous course on company law (either on national or European company law). Basic knowledge will therefore be presumed.
Recommended reading
Prescribed readings will be made available in the coursebook and will be either easily accessible electronically or to be found in the university library.