Do Some Outside Directors Play a Political Role?
研究了具有政治或法律背景的外部董事是否在企业面临更多政治因素时更重要，发现政府销售、出口、游说多的制造企业以及监管成本高的电力企业更可能聘用这类董事，但女性董事的政治角色证据不足。
If outside directors with backgrounds in politics and in law play a political role, they will be more important on the boards of firms for which politics matters more. We conduct three tests. First, for a sample of manufacturing firms, we find that politically experienced directors are more prevalent in firms where sales to government, exports, and lobbying are greater; lawyer-directors are more prevalent in firms where costs of environmental regulation are higher; and both are more prevalent in larger firms. Second, for a sample of electric utilities during the 1990s, when the advent of retail competition made politics more important, we find increased incidence of politically experienced directors. Finally, we explore whether a governmental taste for diversity creates a political role for women directors. Although we document increased incidence of women directors over time, we find little evidence that women directors play a political role. Copyright 2001 by the University of Chicago.