•  
  •  
 

Notes

This paper has been revised since publication and varies from the original print version.

Abstract

The hundredth anniversary of Dodge v. Ford marks an occasion to reflect upon what, if anything, has changed about shareholder primacy in a century. Seizing this opportunity, in this Article I analyze new local laws and ordinances that promote stakeholder governance and engagement, which seek to protect the interests of non-shareholder constituencies such as workers, the environment, and the communities in which corporations operate, among others. In doing so, I argue that such local laws meaningfully differ from traditional stakeholder protections, most significantly in the way that they weaken managerial accountability to shareholders. The emergence of these city laws challenges – and thus creates a new urban front for – shareholder primacy, with both practical implications for the community benefits movement as well as theoretical implications for our understanding of corporate law.

Share

COinS