"Over the last few years, national and international regulators have taken conscious steps to make capital markets - especially those based in Europe - more shareholder-oriented. On one side, these are welcome initiatives as the recent spectacular corporate failures and anecdotal evidence suggest that managers' attitudes definitely need to change and more weight needs to be given to shareholders' concerns. On the other side, there is as yet very little research on the benefits and shortcomings of alternative systems of corporate governance. Evidence from the few existing studies is inconclusive as to whether there is an optimal system of corporate governance and whether such a system already exists in a particular country. The move in one particular direction may therefore be far too premature. Further, some of my own research suggests that very similar changes in regulation - such as changes in takeover regulation - may have very different outcomes depending on the initial corporate ownership and control that prevails in a given country."

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