We find that ownership changes much less over time in private firms than in public firms. The average largest shareholder in private (public) Norwegian firms keeps the same stake in 82% (14%) of two consecutive years. This evidence suggests that...Read more
We examine how negative liquidity shocks to shareholders propagate to the firm. Analyzing regulatory changes to personal wealth taxation in Norway, we show that higher taxes...Read more
We examine whether reducing frictions in the labor market affects the performance of private and public firms. Using the staggered adoption of state-level Paid Family Leave acts, we provide causal evidence on the value created by relieving...Read more
The last twenty years or so have seen a sharp decline in public equity. I present a framework that explains the forces that cause the listing propensity of firms to change over time. This framework highlights the benefits and costs of a public...Read more
We examine the effects of a law amendment in Israel in 2011 that imposes a set of minimum corporate governance standards on privately held firms that issue publicly traded bonds. Two main results emerge. First, consistent with US evidence, the...Read more
We provide the first evidence on the performance of private operating firms as acquirers. Private bidders experience greater post-acquisition operating per- formance improvements compared to public bidders. This effect is not due to differences...Read more
In this paper, we examine the relation between innovation and a firm's financial dependence using a sample of privately-held and publicly-traded U.S. firms. We find that public firms in external finance dependent industries spend more on R&D...Read more
The separation of control and ownership ? the ability of a small group effectively to control a company though holding a minority of its cash flow rights ? is common throughout the world, but also is commonly decried. The control group, it is...Read more
This Chapter in a comparative book on private limited liability companies starts with an illustration of the former success of the Dutch limited liability company (BV). Next it addresses the competitive European legal environment within which the...Read more
More and more companies appear with strange abbreviations behind their business name. Consider Chrysler Group LLC (instead of Inc.) or LVMH Montres and Joaillerie France SAS. Some even speak about the 'endangered corporate form' and...Read more
