Corporate Governance in a Changing Economic and Political Environment : Trajectories of Institutional Change

Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The contributors to this collection discuss the development of corporate governance in ten European countries. The systematic cross-country comparison of West and East, North and South, and country-specific settings is its main focus. Chapters are based on empirically grounded country cases and explore the evolution of economic organization over time. Each of the case study chapters refer implicitly to Germany and UK models as their benchmarks for contradicting as well as evolving traits. The book demonstrates the lack of convergence towards a clear model of corporate governance in post-communist economies, and the variety of institutional developments in advanced economies. The introductory chapter discusses the concept of corporate governance in the context of varieties of contemporary capitalism, overtly addressing the changes in the post-communist institutional environment. The concluding chapter addresses the impact of the EU on corporate governance in the candidate countries. The volume offers both a new theoretical approach and recent country specific evidence uncovering a mixture of both convergent and path-dependant tendencies, as opposed to a 'linear' vision of economic development Front Matter....Pages i-xv Introduction: Corporate Governance from a Comparative Perspective — Bridging East and West....Pages 1-22 Are Italy and Spain Mediterranean Sisters? A Comparison of Corporate Governance Systems....Pages 23-70 Ukraine: the Newly Built State and Economic Institutions....Pages 71-99 Bulgaria: the Rise of Capitalism and Actors’ Rationality....Pages 100-120 The Czech Republic: the Case of Delayed Transformation....Pages 121-143 Poland: Worker-driven Transformation to Capitalism?....Pages 144-169 Ownership and Corporate Governance in the Hungarian Large Enterprise Sector....Pages 170-194 Revisiting the French Model: Coordination and Restructuring in French Industry (in the 1980s and 1990s)....Pages 195-219 The Specificity of Corporate Governance in Small States: Institutionalization and Questioning of Ownership Restrictions in Switzerland and Sweden....Pages 220-246 European Integration and Corporate Governance in Central Europe: Trajectories of Institutional Change....Pages 247-266 Back Matter....Pages 267-299 Pt. I. Introduction -- Pt. Ii. Property Rights In Philosophy And Economics. 1. Theories Of Property In Classical Philosophy. 2. The Neoclassical Definition Of Property. 3. The Monetary Theory Of Private Property. 4. The Genesis And Changes Of Property As Portrayed By Old Institutionalists. 5. Property As An Institution: Summary And Prospect -- Pt. Iii. Property Rights In Planned Economies. 6. Legal Types Of Property And Ownership Guarantee. 7. Ownership Of The Means Of Production. 8. Employment Guarantee And Social Security. 9. Property Erosion And The Initial Situation Before Transformation -- Pt. Iv. Property Rights In Transition. 10. The Course Of Transformation. 11. The Question Of Property. 12. The Legal Solution. Hella Engerer. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 293-312) And Index. This text analyzes the emergence, evolution and theory of property rights and establishes the limits for privatization of state owned enterprises in the transitional economies of eastern Europe. It counters the assumption that reduction of the state sector helps to create the basis for a private property system, showing that privatization actually presupposes a stable framework including property order. The book makes use of an outstanding methodological approach, reaching well beyond the limits of pure economic observation. This book contributes to the understanding of the emerging economic order of central and eastern Europe "Using Germany as a focal point, this book asks whether foreign banks can solve the problems involved in creating a well-functioning market economy. Drawing on extensive interviews, as well as a range of English and German sources, it argues that there are no quickfix solutions to transition to a market economy. The German case is also accompanied by a broader review of the situation in Central and Eastern Europe. The findings contain lessons for academics, policy-makers and bankers in all countries undergoing financial development and deepening."--Jacket This collection provides exceptional descriptive and analytical insights into changes in corporate governance settings in ten Eastern and Western European countries. It demonstrates that there exist different varieties of capitalisms and paths to transformation of economic institutions. In addition, it offers detailed discussions about national cases as well as the overall European Union effects. This book should be of great interest to scholars and students of comparative national systems, corporate governance and European studies. At first, this project was intended to be a study on transition and privatization in Romania, a country viewed with suspicion even today, due to its past, and considered a "taboo-zone", that seems to forbid even the slightest interest.