To Steal or Not to Steal: Firm Attributes, Legal Environment, and Valuation
利用27个国家的企业数据，发现投资机会、外部融资和所有权结构这三个企业特征与治理和披露质量相关，且治理和透明度高的企业在股票市场估值更高，这些关系在投资者保护较弱的国家更为显著。
ABSTRACT Data on corporate governance and disclosure practices reveal wide within‐country variation that decreases with the strength of investors' legal protection. A simple model identifies three firm attributes related to that variation: investment opportunities, external financing, and ownership structure. Using firm‐level governance and transparency data from 27 countries, we find that all three firm attributes are related to the quality of governance and disclosure practices, and firms with higher governance and transparency rankings are valued higher in stock markets. All relations are stronger in less investor‐friendly countries, demonstrating that firms adapt to poor legal environments to establish efficient governance practices.