Essays on corporate ownership

Zusammenfassung

This dissertation studies corporate governance in contexts of concentrated ownership. Chapter 1 studies the role of colonial ties in governmental reforms to improve a countrys business conditions. Consistent with the view that, on average, colonial ties can create opportunities for rent extraction, I find evidence that business reforms limit those opportunities and have more positive effect on GDP growth in former French colonies than in other SSA countries. Chapter 2 examines whether the corporate dividend policy of firms with concentrated ownership is shaped by individual wealth taxes. The results suggest that, in cases of concentrated ownership, wealth taxes paired with substantial increases in stock prices are associated with a significant increase in dividend payouts. Chapter 3 studies the role of shareholder leverage on dividend policy in family firms. I show that family firms with shareholders holding a relatively higher amount of debt are less likely to cut dividends in bad times (i.e., in periods of relatively poor performance). The results have implications for the ongoing debate on concentrated ownership.