Corporate ownership and control in nineteenth-century Britain
Investigators: Graeme Acheson, Gareth Campbell, and John Turner
Researcher: Nadia Vanteeva
Funder: Research Project Grant, The Leverhulme Trust
Researcher: Nadia Vanteeva
Funder: Research Project Grant, The Leverhulme Trust
Project Description:
Although the traditional view of financial capitalism is usually characterised by corporations which have many small diffuse owners and managers who are not major owners of the corporation, recent research has suggested that such a view is only applicable to the Anglo-Saxon world. Amongst some scholars, it is believed that this model of corporate ownership has been central to the economic growth of the Anglo-Saxon economies. However, the recent financial crisis, as well as the rise of private equity, hedge funds, and sovereign-wealth funds, has brought into question the long-term survival of the diffusely-owned corporation in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Amongst scholars of economics, finance and law, there are two principal debates with regard to corporate ownership. First, there is a debate as to when the diffuse corporation emerged. For example, some scholars see the diffusion of corporate ownership in Britain as being very much a second half of the twentieth-century phenomenon. This view has been recently challenged by Leslie Hannah, one of Britain’s leading business historians, who suggested that corporate ownership may have been more diffuse in the nineteenth century than is commonly believed. Second, over the past eight decades there has been a debate as to whether the structure and nature of corporate ownership ultimately matters for corporate performance.
Our research project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, engages with these debates as follows. First, we aim to determine quantitatively and comprehensively the extent of ownership diffuseness in the nineteenth century. Second, we aim to test whether or not the nature and structure of ownership mattered for the performance of firms in the nineteenth century. Our proposal seeks to build on our previous work on nineteenth-century markets, which focuses on the performance of the equity market, the railway mania, the market for shares, limited liability, and corporate governance.
Research Objectives:
Outputs:
Although the traditional view of financial capitalism is usually characterised by corporations which have many small diffuse owners and managers who are not major owners of the corporation, recent research has suggested that such a view is only applicable to the Anglo-Saxon world. Amongst some scholars, it is believed that this model of corporate ownership has been central to the economic growth of the Anglo-Saxon economies. However, the recent financial crisis, as well as the rise of private equity, hedge funds, and sovereign-wealth funds, has brought into question the long-term survival of the diffusely-owned corporation in the Anglo-Saxon world.
Amongst scholars of economics, finance and law, there are two principal debates with regard to corporate ownership. First, there is a debate as to when the diffuse corporation emerged. For example, some scholars see the diffusion of corporate ownership in Britain as being very much a second half of the twentieth-century phenomenon. This view has been recently challenged by Leslie Hannah, one of Britain’s leading business historians, who suggested that corporate ownership may have been more diffuse in the nineteenth century than is commonly believed. Second, over the past eight decades there has been a debate as to whether the structure and nature of corporate ownership ultimately matters for corporate performance.
Our research project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, engages with these debates as follows. First, we aim to determine quantitatively and comprehensively the extent of ownership diffuseness in the nineteenth century. Second, we aim to test whether or not the nature and structure of ownership mattered for the performance of firms in the nineteenth century. Our proposal seeks to build on our previous work on nineteenth-century markets, which focuses on the performance of the equity market, the railway mania, the market for shares, limited liability, and corporate governance.
Research Objectives:
- Estimate the extent of ownership diffusion across industries and time in nineteenth-century Britain.
- Explain changes in ownership structure over the course of the nineteenth century.
- Determine the extent of family ownership in publicly-traded corporations during the nineteenth century.
- Examine the impact of ownership structure on firm performance and dividend policy in the nineteenth century.
- Examine the effect of legal and political changes on ownership structure in nineteenth-century Britain.
Outputs:
- Graeme G. Acheson, Gareth Campbell, John D. Turner, and Nadia Vanteeva (April 2014), 'Corporate Ownership and Control in Victorian Britain', QUCEH Working Paper No. 14-01.
- Campbell, G., and Turner, J.D. (2011), 'Substitutes for legal protection: Corporate Governance and Dividends in Victorian Britain', Economic History Review, Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 571-597.