宗教传统与公司治理

Religious Tradition and Corporate Governance

目前公司治理研究对法律及管制等正式制度较多关注,对非正式制度的研究较少,本文探讨了作为非正式制度的重要组成部分之宗教传统对公司治理的影响。选2000年至2009年为观察期,以公司违规、盈余管理、审计意见类型衡量公司治理水平,检验了上市公司所在地的宗教传统对其公司治理的影响。研究发现,上市公司所在地的宗教传统越强,其越少发生违规行为,也更少被出具非标准审计意见;宗教传统亦能够显著抑制上市公司的盈余管理。并且,上述关系在法律制度环境较好的地区更为明显,表明法律制度(正式制度)与宗教传统(非正式制度)存在一定的互补关系。本文提供了宗教传统可以显著提高公司治理质量的正面证据,拓展了对新兴和转型经济体(特别是在法律薄弱或后发国家)中非正式制度的作用以及其与正式制度之间互动关系的理解。

Abstract：Since the lack of research on the informal institutions, our paper studies the effect of religions on the corporate governance. We find that the quality of corporate governance is better in the region which is of stronger religion tradition. Specifically, firms in regions of stronger religion traditions are less likely to violate laws and stipulations from government, are less likely to manage earnings and to get dirty audit opinions. In addition, the above findings are more pronounced in regions with higher quality law environment. Our study provides evidence that informal institutions （religious tradition ） have significant effects on corporate governance, and, informal and formal institutions could interact each other complimentarily.