Article by Janis Sarra
Current market pressure for convergence of governance norms and protection of equity interests comes primarily from Anglo-American investors as capital moves outward. The private law aspects of corporate law norms in Canada and the United States are situated in an extensive regulatory framework that protects a particular hierarchy of property. Yet there is countervailing pressure resisting such convergence in other countries situated in their differing cultural, political, and economic structures and reflected in capital market and corporate law regimes. Equity capital, rather than having primacy in terms of corporate goals, is ranked equally with recognition of the contributions of workers, creditors, and communities. This Article tracks some of these developments in continental Europe, Canada, the Pan-Pacific Region, and transition economies, suggesting that diverse systems give rise to different normative measures of “efficiency” and wealth generation. Anglo-American investors and corporations seeking to participate in global markets need to develop an understanding of these different norms and governance structures, in order to appreciate and measure the signs of effective stewardship of the corporation.
About the Author
Janis Sarra. Dr. Janis Sarra teaches corporate law and commercial insolvency law at the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada (sarra@law.ubc.ca).
Citation
76 Tul. L. Rev. 1691 (2002)