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

Freeman, Mark; Pearson, Robin; Taylor, James

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. © 2013 Copyright The Author(s). Published by Routledge.

Citation

Freeman, M., Pearson, R., & Taylor, J. (2013). Law, politics and the governance of English and Scottish joint-stock companies, 1600-1850. Business history, 55(4), 636-652. https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2012.741971

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 15, 2013
• Deposit Date: Apr 1, 2022
• Journal: Business History
• Print ISSN: 0007-6791
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 636-652
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2012.741971
• Keywords: Common- and civil-law regimes; Corporate governance; Joint-stock companies; Law and economics; Organisational form; Scotland
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3624126