Corporate governance is an active area of research and public debate. The recent generalization of “shareholder value” ideas and institutional investment, the establishment of codes of best practice for boards of directors and the controversy about whether market-oriented or bank-oriented or relations-based systems are best for economic performance are examples of the interest in the topic. The outcome of the debate is important as well for developing countries and transition economies.

The present volume contains papers presented at a conference on “New Ideas in Corporate Governance,” held in Barcelona in October 1998, organized by the Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC) and sponsored by the Institut Català de Finances (Generalitat de Catalunya).

The aim of the volume is to present new developments, theoretical and empirical, in the study of corporate governance. The volume opens with an introduction to the topic, taking stock of received knowledge, summarizing the contribution of the different chapters, and offering a point of view about the relevance of corporate governance. The following chapters deal with the role of competition and its interaction with corporate governance, the political economy of corporate governance, the effects of different corporate governance systems on growth and performance, the governance system by venture capital in Silicon Valley, and human capital and control in the new corporation.

I am grateful to the Institut Català de Finances for making this project possible, in particular to its director Ernest Sena, and also to Gemma Gimeno, and to Angela Hernández for efficient secretarial assistance.