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This publication provides important insights into how the public policy agenda of corporate governance needs to adapt to developments in modern equity markets. Based on original empirical research it illustrates key changes with respect to the population of regulated corporations, the markets in which their shares are traded and the varying incentives among institutional investors to engage in truly informed corporate governance. The authors are Mats Isaksson, Head of the Corporate Affairs Division, and Serdar Çelik, Senior Economist, both at the OECD.

Johan Munck has for many years played a key role in the development of corporate law, stock market regulation and securities law. In his role as investigator, judge, arbitrator, chairman of numerous important committees and in other ways, he has been a highly active and extremely productive influencer. In connection with his 70th birthday, 18 of his friends and colleagues wrote this book on shares, corporations and the stock market. The book is edited by the Cheif Justice Marianne Lundius, economist Ragnar Boman, and Adjunct Professor Rolf Skog, whom have all worked closely with Johan Munck.

The capital market has changed dramatically in recent years. Deregulation has opened up for international ownership, and in many large Swedish listed companies, foreign owners are today in majority. The ownership structure has also changed. Private shareholders are no longer dominating the ownership structure, replaced by institutional investors. This has become a reality in Sweden as well as globally. At the same time, a capital market outside the stock exchange has developed, through for example hedge funds and private equity funds. CGF has gathered a number of researchers and practitioners interested in regulatory issues in the capital market to discuss how these changes in ownership should impact the capital market regulation. The results of the discussions are presented in this book by Gunnar Nord and Per Thorell.

The debate on corporate governance centers on how the system of shareholders, institutions and regulations should be designed to ensure the greatest possible efficiency and innovation in individual companies and the business sector in general. By simultaneous use of economic theory and law, corporate governance addresses a most vital aspect of the functioning of the market economy. In 1993, CGF arranged an international corporate governance symposium in Stockholm at which some of the world’s foremost thinkers in corporate governance participated. Ten years later, a jubilee seminar was held with virtually the same distinguished speakers, to review the corporate governance timeline during the past decade and to volunteer prognosis on the future. This book contains the proceedings from that seminar.