Title: The Post-Revolutionary Period in Corporate Law: Returning to the Theory of the Firm
Abstract: Corporate law academia has an established story about the transformation of the field—a revolution, in fact—that took place in the 1970s and 1980s. According to the traditional narrative, what was once a swampy doctrinal backwater became a vibrant hub of intellectual activity through the new methodology of law and economics. Economic theory introduced such concepts as agency costs, the market for corporate control, and shareholder primacy—concepts that in turn became the dominant framework for the corporate law and theory of today. Some scholars have characterized this revolution as the “end of history” of corporate law: namely, an international consensus on the corporation’s basic structure and principles. The consensus on corporate law theory has narrowed the field’s doctrinal and methodological foci. Although the vibrancy of shareholder primacy has at times been called into question as a matter of law, both boardrooms and courts have taken the normative call for shareholder wealth maximization increasingly to heart. There is little doubt that the revolution has not only substantially affected legal theory but also legislation, court decisions, and corporate behavior. It achieved a level of
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 4
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