World Bank2012-08-132012-08-132008-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/11132In recent years, voluntary codes have been increasingly employed across the globe to drive corporate governance reform. These guidelines, which emanate from stock exchanges, securities commissions, investors and investor associations, and supra-national organizations, set forth "best practice" recommendations across a range of topics that listed companies, shareholders, and other relevant parties are encouraged but not obliged to follow. Today, corporate governance codes are found in over 70 countries. It is relatively straightforward to develop corporate governance codes. The challenge lies in ensuring their effective implementation and enforcement, as evidenced by the complaints heard in some countries that governance codes have not lived up to their promise to spur enduring improvements in corporate practices. The concerns voiced range from poorly written guidelines to inadequate levels of compliance by companies to "box-ticking" by investors. This opinion piece will begin with an examination of the principal uses and key design characteristics of a corporate governance code.CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYASSET MANAGEMENTASSET MANAGERSAUDIT COMMITTEEAUTHORITYBOARD MEMBERSBOARDS OF DIRECTORSBUSINESS COMMUNITYCAPITAL MARKETCAPITAL MARKETSCEOSCHAIRMAN AND CEOCHIEF EXECUTIVECOLLECTIVECOMPANIES ACTCOMPANYCOMPANY LAWCOMPANY LAW DIRECTIVECOMPETITORSCONSENSUSCONSTITUENCIESCONTROLLING SHAREHOLDERCONTROLLING SHAREHOLDERSCORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODECORPORATE GOVERNANCE CODESCORPORATE GOVERNANCE REFORMCORPORATE GOVERNANCE REFORMSCORPORATE PRACTICECORPORATE PRACTICESCORPORATE SCANDALSCORPORATIONCORPORATIONSDERIVATIVEDEVELOPING ECONOMIESDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTECONOMIC REFORMEMERGING ECONOMIESEMERGING MARKETEMERGING MARKET COMPANYEMERGING MARKETSENABLING ENVIRONMENTEXECUTIONFIDUCIARY DUTIESFIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONSFINANCE CORPORATIONFINANCIAL CRISESFINANCIAL INSTITUTIONFINANCIAL MARKETFINANCIAL STATEMENTSFIRM STRUCTUREFIRMSFOREIGN INVESTORSGLOBAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCEGLOBAL INVESTORSGOLD STANDARDGOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTSGOVERNANCE ISSUESGOVERNANCE PRACTICESGOVERNANCE REGULATIONGOVERNANCE REGULATIONSGOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENTHOLDINGHOLDINGSINCOMEINCORPORATEDINCORPORATED COMPANIESINDEPENDENT AUDITINDEPENDENT DIRECTORINDEPENDENT DIRECTORSINDIVIDUAL COMPANIESINDIVIDUALSINSTITUTIONAL INVESTORINSTITUTIONAL INVESTORSINSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDERINSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDERSINSTRUMENTINSURANCEINSURANCE COMPANIESINSURERSINTERESTED PARTIESINTERESTS OF MINORITY SHAREHOLDERSINTERNATIONAL BEST PRACTICESINTERNATIONAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCEINTERNATIONAL FINANCEINVESTEE COMPANIESINVESTEE COMPANYINVESTOR BASEJURISDICTIONSLAWYERLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGISLATIONLEGITIMACYLIMITEDLISTED COMPANIESLOCAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCELOCAL INSTITUTIONSLOCAL MARKETLOW-INCOME COUNTRIESMAJOR SHAREHOLDERSMANAGERSMANDATORY DISCLOSUREMARKET INSTITUTIONSMARKET MECHANISMSMARKET PARTICIPANTSMINORITY SHAREHOLDERMINORITY SHAREHOLDER RIGHTSOUTSIDE INVESTORSOWNERSHIP STRUCTUREOWNERSHIP STRUCTURESPAR VALUEPARTYPENSIONPENSION FUNDSPORTFOLIOSPRIVATE MARKETPROXYPROXY VOTINGPUBLIC INFORMATIONPUBLIC POLICYREGULATORREGULATORSREGULATORY FRAMEWORKSREGULATORY INSTRUMENTSREPRESENTATIVESRETURNSSECURITIESSECURITIES LAWSSELF-REGULATIONSHAREHOLDER BASESHAREHOLDER MEETINGSHAREHOLDER MEETINGSSHAREHOLDER RIGHTSSHAREHOLDERSSMALLER COMPANIESSPONSORSSTAKEHOLDERSSTOCK EXCHANGESTOCK EXCHANGE LISTINGSTOCK EXCHANGESSTOCK MARKETSUBSIDIARYTAKEOVERSTRANSITION ECONOMIESTRANSPARENCYTRUST FUNDWorld Bank10.1596/11132