Economics of Corporate Law

Scholarly analysis of corporate law in the United States has come to be dominated by an economic approach. Professor Hill and Professor McDonnell here draw together seminal articles that represent the major milestones in corporate law academia on the road of economics. This focus on corporate law draws mainly upon legal, US scholarship, which originally applied modern economic analysis to corporate law and has been influential in other countries. Beginning with several works on the economics of the firm most important to legal scholarship, this book explores the central role of the board of directors and state competition for corporate charters. Further, it considers the role of hostile takeovers and board defenses against this competition, as well as the effectiveness of shareholder suits and other agency mechanisms.