Call for Research Proposals
The Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at Yale sponsors empirical and analytical research relating to corporate governance and performance. Unlike a traditional call for papers, this Call for Research Proposals is intended to support scholars at relatively early stages of research. The Faculty Advisory Board of the Center twice annually considers outstanding proposals for award stipends. Scholars at Yale and other institutions are eligible.
Projects should reflect the Center’s mission. Efforts are currently focused on the following subject areas, though topics not mentioned here are welcome:
- firm governance (impact of firm structure; interactions among owners, board, and management)
- market institutions (role of institutions that are vital to transactions)
- regulation (role of regulation, transparency, and international standards)
- role of the corporation (rationale for the corporation, corporate obligation and responsibility, expectations of stakeholders)
- shareholders (the extent of ownership rights, obligations of retail and institutional investors, private pools of capital, and governments)
The program's goals are: (1) to support and foster young, exceptional talent in corporate governance (2) to stimulate research on issues related to corporate governance, corporate performance, and any linkages or correlations (3) to improve the educational research community's firsthand knowledge of corporate governance. The program supports research projects that are quantitative or qualitative in nature, including the analysis of existing data and the development of new data sets. Collection and organization of new data sets that can serve as a resource in corporate governance research is a particularly important activity that the Center is actively interested in supporting.
Research awards are up to $20,000 for a 1 year projects and may be renewed. Applications are encouraged from multiple disciplines and open to applicants of any nationality. Awards are available for post-doctoral researchers, faculty, and PhD-level researchers. Successful candidates will also be expected to submit a progress report and a final report of publication quality.
Application Requirements
For consideration by the committee, all applications must include:
- Research proposal (limited to 5 pages) that includes:
- A brief abstract
- Description of issue and its importance
- Short review of relevant research/policy literature
- Model/Framework of the study
- Description of methodology and research design
- Estimated Budget
- Author(s) current resume or CV
- List of any other grants received or applied for
Evaluation criteria
Evaluation will be based on importance of the proposed issue, the strength of methodology mode, and relevant experience and research record of the applicant.
Application Submission
Proposals for Research Grants will be reviewed twice a year, with funding decisions made within a month of the review date. Upcoming deadlines for proposals are:
October 1, 2008 to be reviewed in late October
June 1, 2009 to be reviewed in late June
The submission process will be electronic for the 2008-2009 review cycles.
Please email your proposal to millsteincoordinator@yale.edu or call (203) 432-8070 with any questions.
SUMMER 2007
The Center supports research related to corporate governance. There are currently two MCCGP supported research projects under way. Research summaries and papers are forthcoming.
Governance Database
Martijn Cremers, Assistant Professor of Finance at the Yale School of Management, is currently assembling a governance database, in a joint project with Professor Allen Ferrell of Harvard Law School. It consists of a wide variety of governance provisions in firms’ charters and by-laws, as well as details on all blockholders – shareholders who own at least 5 percent of the outstanding shares. This database, containing data going back to 1978, is essential to understanding the changes in shareholder rights over the last 25 years and how those relate to the ownership structure or the interaction between management and shareholders.
This research is an ongoing project supported by the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance & Performance and the Harvard Law School. The first stage consisted of research on shareholder rights, going back to 1980, and is being completed. The second, and current, stage involves research on blockholders.
These areas of research are directly relevant to the Center’s core work, especially to the Center’s work on better understanding the relationship between the changing ownership of firms and the changing capital market.
Economic Consequences of Organizational Law
Timothy W. Guinnane, Professor of Economic and History Yale University, is currently working on a project, “Economic Consequences of Organizational Law,” which examines corporate forms and corporate governance over the past 200 years in the US, UK, France, and Germany.
