The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.

As passive investment through index funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) has become pervasive, the structure of corporate control in the global capital market is more complex than before. We propose a new model and calculation algorithm to measure a shareholder's power to control corporations...

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Main Authors: Takayuki Mizuno, Shohei Doi, Shuhei Kurizaki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2020-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237862
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author Takayuki Mizuno
Shohei Doi
Shuhei Kurizaki
author_facet Takayuki Mizuno
Shohei Doi
Shuhei Kurizaki
author_sort Takayuki Mizuno
collection DOAJ
description As passive investment through index funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) has become pervasive, the structure of corporate control in the global capital market is more complex than before. We propose a new model and calculation algorithm to measure a shareholder's power to control corporations in the global economy. Our method takes into account how fragmented voting rights attached to dispersed ownership may be consolidated to generate corporate control. Analyzing the ownership holdings in 49 million companies worldwide by 69 million shareholders in 2016, we find that the landscape of global corporate control appears differently if we adequately evaluate indirect influence via dispersed ownership. In particular, a larger portion of corporate control appears to be concentrated in the hands of sovereign governments than has been recognized before. Yet, such governmental capacities are "hidden" if we use the conventional method. Moreover, financial institutions appear to not be as powerful as emphasized before. These results point to important financial and political risks both for scholars and policymakers.
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spelling doaj.art-91d3cb3f611a4519a11c8088f8f335f82022-12-21T19:17:40ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-01158e023786210.1371/journal.pone.0237862The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.Takayuki MizunoShohei DoiShuhei KurizakiAs passive investment through index funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) has become pervasive, the structure of corporate control in the global capital market is more complex than before. We propose a new model and calculation algorithm to measure a shareholder's power to control corporations in the global economy. Our method takes into account how fragmented voting rights attached to dispersed ownership may be consolidated to generate corporate control. Analyzing the ownership holdings in 49 million companies worldwide by 69 million shareholders in 2016, we find that the landscape of global corporate control appears differently if we adequately evaluate indirect influence via dispersed ownership. In particular, a larger portion of corporate control appears to be concentrated in the hands of sovereign governments than has been recognized before. Yet, such governmental capacities are "hidden" if we use the conventional method. Moreover, financial institutions appear to not be as powerful as emphasized before. These results point to important financial and political risks both for scholars and policymakers.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237862
spellingShingle Takayuki Mizuno
Shohei Doi
Shuhei Kurizaki
The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.
PLoS ONE
title The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.
title_full The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.
title_fullStr The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.
title_full_unstemmed The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.
title_short The power of corporate control in the global ownership network.
title_sort power of corporate control in the global ownership network
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237862
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