Annual Lecture - Board Elections : Is Italy a Model for the Rest of Us?

Italy is known for its exquisite food, wonderful monuments, and sleek design. But it is not known for the quality of its corporate governance system and even less so for the quality of its laws protecting minority investors. Nevertheless, in Italy one of the most interesting experiments in corporate governance is taking place. A law introduced the requirement that at least one Board Member of every listed company be appointed by minority shareholders. Does this system work? While it is too early to be able to provide a systematic analysis, Professor Zingales will discuss costs and benefits of this system and the challenges ahead.

The lecture and the subsequent debate were conducted under the Chatham House rule.