'Investor Protection and Corporate Governance' analyzes the impact of corporate governance on firm performance and valuation. Using unique datasets gathered at the firm-level--the first such data in the region--and results from a homogeneous corporate governance questionnaire, the book examines corporate governance characteristics, ownership structures, dividend policies, and performance measures. The book's analysis reveals the very high levels of ownership and voting rights concentrations and monolithic governance structures in the largest samples of Latin American companies up to now, and...

The papers in this book constitute the largest firm-level corporate governance analysis undertaken across Latin American countries. The new datasets in the book allow the researchers to conclude that companies with better self-imposed firm-level governance practices or with listings in U.S. markets are given higher valuations and can raise capital at a lower cost.