Abstract
This study examines the effect of firm-level corporate governance on the cost of equity capital in emerging markets and how the effect is influenced by country-level legal protection of investors. We find that firm-level corporate governance has a significantly negative effect on the cost of equity capital in these markets. In addition, this corporate governance effect is more pronounced in countries that provide relatively poor legal protection. Thus, in emerging markets, firm-level corporate governance and country-level shareholder protection seem to be substitutes for each other in reducing the cost of equity. Our results are consistent with the finding from McKinsey's surveys that institutional investors are willing to pay a higher premium for shares in firms with good corporate governance, especially when the firms are in countries where the legal protection of investors is weak.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 273-289 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Corporate Finance |
Volume | 15 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Corporate governance
- Cost of equity
- Legal protection of investors
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Business and International Management
- Finance
- Economics and Econometrics
- Strategy and Management