Stephen P. Ferris is the dean of the College of Business at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Previous to that appointment, he was the J. H. Rogers Chair of Money, Credit and Banking and Professor of Finance at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He served as senior associate dean for graduate studies and research for five years at MU. Prior to his appointment to the Rogers chair, Dr. Ferris served as the chair of MU's department of finance for ten years. Dr. Ferris held a previous tenured appointment in the department of finance at Virginia Tech. He received a B.A. from Duquesne University, a M.S.S. from the U.S. Army War College, and a M.B.A. and PhD. from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ferris' research is in the areas of corporate governance, law and finance and international corporate finance. He has published over 150 refereed articles and served as editor of The Financial Review and the Journal of Multinational Financial Management. He is the past president of the Eastern Finance Association and the Midwest Finance Association.Kose John is the Charles William Gerstenberg Professor of Banking and Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Florida. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences PO). He has won several awards including the Batterymarch Fellowship in 1983 and the Jensen Prize for the Best Paper published in 2000 in the Journal of Financial Economics. He is the author of two books (on futures markets and dividend policy) and the editor of 23 books and special issues of finance journals, on topics such as financial stability, financial distress, and valuation of distressed securities, corporate governance, and investments innovations in finance. He has completed 57 Working Papers in addition to his published work. He served as the President of the Financial Management Association International. He also serves as the Program Chair of the Association of Financial Economists. John received his Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Kerala, India, his masters in computer science from the Florida Institute of Technology, and his Doctor of Philosophy in management science from the University of Florida. Anil K. Makhija serves as dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. Makhija is recognized as an expert in the field of finance, particularly capital structure, corporate governance and valuation, and has more than 20 years of experience in academic leadership roles.Prior to his appointment to dean in October 2014, Makhija served as senior associate dean at Fisher. He has served on the faculty of the business college since 1998 and has held the Dean's Distinguished Professorship and the David A. Rismiller Professorship in Finance. He chaired Fisher's Department of Finance and served as an associate dean of executive education programs where he was responsible for the development of Fisher's top-ranked Executive MBA program. Makhija previously served as associate dean at the University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business, where was on the business faculty for more than 15 years. He has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MBA from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

Eight papers investigate whether dividend payout is a substitute for external corporate governance, how economic freedom affects a firm's performance, the impact of governance mechanisms and board characteristics on Canadian mutual fund fees and performance, and the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on U.S. financial analyst behavior. A particularly lengthy paper assesses the relationship between board gender diversity and firm performance using quantile regression analysis.

• Chapter 1. Climate Policies with Burden Sharing: The Economics of Climate Financing; Julia M. PuaschunderChapter 2. Board Gender Diversity and Firm Financial Performance: A Quantile Regression Analysis; Amélie Charles, Rey Dang, Etienne Redor Chapter 3. Are Dividends an Outcome of or a Substitute for External Corporate Governance? International Evidence based on Product Market Competition; Bobby Alexander, Stephen P. Ferris, Sanjiv Sabherwal Chapter 4. International Evidence on Economic Freedom, Governance, and Firm Performance; Min-Yu Liao Chapter 5. Should We Trust Fund Managers? A Close Look at the Canadian Mutual FundGovernance; Zhongzhi (Lawrence) He,Martin Kusy, Deepak Singh, Samir Trabelsi Chapter 6. The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the behavior of financial analysts of US firms; Bouteska Ahmed Chapter 7. Corporate governance that influences an investment intention in the ASEAN Stars Thai Listed companies: A marketing application for brokerage firms; Wasukarn Ngamchom, Malai Kamolsakulchai, Thanomsak Suwannoi, Jutamas Wongkantarakorn Chapter 8. Reconsidering the mandate of the audit committee: evidence from corporate governance in Israel; Omer Berkman, Shlomith D. Zuta

Stephen P. Ferris is the dean of the College of Business at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Previous to that appointment, he was the J. H. Rogers Chair of Money, Credit and Banking and Professor of Finance at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He served as senior associate dean for graduate studies and research for five years at MU. Prior to his appointment to the Rogers chair, Dr. Ferris served as the chair of MU's department of finance for ten years. Dr. Ferris held a previous tenured appointment in the department of finance at Virginia Tech. He received a B.A. from Duquesne University, a M.S.S. from the U.S. Army War College, and a M.B.A. and PhD. from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ferris' research is in the areas of corporate governance, law and finance and international corporate finance. He has published over 150 refereed articles and served as editor of The Financial Review and the Journal of Multinational Financial Management. He is the past president of the Eastern Finance Association and the Midwest Finance Association.Kose John is the Charles William Gerstenberg Professor of Banking and Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Florida. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences PO). He has won several awards including the Batterymarch Fellowship in 1983 and the Jensen Prize for the Best Paper published in 2000 in the Journal of Financial Economics. He is the author of two books (on futures markets and dividend policy) and the editor of 23 books and special issues of finance journals, on topics such as financial stability, financial distress, and valuation of distressed securities, corporate governance, and investments innovations in finance. He has completed 57 Working Papers in addition to his published work. He served as the President of the Financial Management Association International. He also serves as the Program Chair of the Association of Financial Economists. John received his Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Kerala, India, his masters in computer science from the Florida Institute of Technology, and his Doctor of Philosophy in management science from the University of Florida. Anil K. Makhija serves as dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. Makhija is recognized as an expert in the field of finance, particularly capital structure, corporate governance and valuation, and has more than 20 years of experience in academic leadership roles.Prior to his appointment to dean in October 2014, Makhija served as senior associate dean at Fisher. He has served on the faculty of the business college since 1998 and has held the Dean's Distinguished Professorship and the David A. Rismiller Professorship in Finance. He chaired Fisher's Department of Finance and served as an associate dean of executive education programs where he was responsible for the development of Fisher's top-ranked Executive MBA program. Makhija previously served as associate dean at the University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business, where was on the business faculty for more than 15 years. He has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MBA from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

Eight papers investigate whether dividend payout is a substitute for external corporate governance, how economic freedom affects a firm's performance, the impact of governance mechanisms and board characteristics on Canadian mutual fund fees and performance, and the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on U.S. financial analyst behavior. A particularly lengthy paper assesses the relationship between board gender diversity and firm performance using quantile regression analysis.

• Chapter 1. Climate Policies with Burden Sharing: The Economics of Climate Financing; Julia M. PuaschunderChapter 2. Board Gender Diversity and Firm Financial Performance: A Quantile Regression Analysis; Amélie Charles, Rey Dang, Etienne Redor Chapter 3. Are Dividends an Outcome of or a Substitute for External Corporate Governance? International Evidence based on Product Market Competition; Bobby Alexander, Stephen P. Ferris, Sanjiv Sabherwal Chapter 4. International Evidence on Economic Freedom, Governance, and Firm Performance; Min-Yu Liao Chapter 5. Should We Trust Fund Managers? A Close Look at the Canadian Mutual FundGovernance; Zhongzhi (Lawrence) He,Martin Kusy, Deepak Singh, Samir Trabelsi Chapter 6. The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the behavior of financial analysts of US firms; Bouteska Ahmed Chapter 7. Corporate governance that influences an investment intention in the ASEAN Stars Thai Listed companies: A marketing application for brokerage firms; Wasukarn Ngamchom, Malai Kamolsakulchai, Thanomsak Suwannoi, Jutamas Wongkantarakorn Chapter 8. Reconsidering the mandate of the audit committee: evidence from corporate governance in Israel; Omer Berkman, Shlomith D. Zuta

Stephen P. Ferris is the dean of the College of Business at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Previous to that appointment, he was the J. H. Rogers Chair of Money, Credit and Banking and Professor of Finance at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He served as senior associate dean for graduate studies and research for five years at MU. Prior to his appointment to the Rogers chair, Dr. Ferris served as the chair of MU's department of finance for ten years. Dr. Ferris held a previous tenured appointment in the department of finance at Virginia Tech. He received a B.A. from Duquesne University, a M.S.S. from the U.S. Army War College, and a M.B.A. and PhD. from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ferris' research is in the areas of corporate governance, law and finance and international corporate finance. He has published over 150 refereed articles and served as editor of The Financial Review and the Journal of Multinational Financial Management. He is the past president of the Eastern Finance Association and the Midwest Finance Association.Kose John is the Charles William Gerstenberg Professor of Banking and Finance at the Stern School of Business, New York University. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Florida. He has also taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and Institut D'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences PO). He has won several awards including the Batterymarch Fellowship in 1983 and the Jensen Prize for the Best Paper published in 2000 in the Journal of Financial Economics. He is the author of two books (on futures markets and dividend policy) and the editor of 23 books and special issues of finance journals, on topics such as financial stability, financial distress, and valuation of distressed securities, corporate governance, and investments innovations in finance. He has completed 57 Working Papers in addition to his published work. He served as the President of the Financial Management Association International. He also serves as the Program Chair of the Association of Financial Economists. John received his Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Kerala, India, his masters in computer science from the Florida Institute of Technology, and his Doctor of Philosophy in management science from the University of Florida. Anil K. Makhija serves as dean and John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. Makhija is recognized as an expert in the field of finance, particularly capital structure, corporate governance and valuation, and has more than 20 years of experience in academic leadership roles.Prior to his appointment to dean in October 2014, Makhija served as senior associate dean at Fisher. He has served on the faculty of the business college since 1998 and has held the Dean's Distinguished Professorship and the David A. Rismiller Professorship in Finance. He chaired Fisher's Department of Finance and served as an associate dean of executive education programs where he was responsible for the development of Fisher's top-ranked Executive MBA program. Makhija previously served as associate dean at the University of Pittsburgh's Katz Graduate School of Business, where was on the business faculty for more than 15 years. He has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MBA from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

Eight papers investigate whether dividend payout is a substitute for external corporate governance, how economic freedom affects a firm's performance, the impact of governance mechanisms and board characteristics on Canadian mutual fund fees and performance, and the influence of corporate governance mechanisms on U.S. financial analyst behavior. A particularly lengthy paper assesses the relationship between board gender diversity and firm performance using quantile regression analysis.

• Chapter 1. Climate Policies with Burden Sharing: The Economics of Climate Financing; Julia M. PuaschunderChapter 2. Board Gender Diversity and Firm Financial Performance: A Quantile Regression Analysis; Amélie Charles, Rey Dang, Etienne Redor Chapter 3. Are Dividends an Outcome of or a Substitute for External Corporate Governance? International Evidence based on Product Market Competition; Bobby Alexander, Stephen P. Ferris, Sanjiv Sabherwal Chapter 4. International Evidence on Economic Freedom, Governance, and Firm Performance; Min-Yu Liao Chapter 5. Should We Trust Fund Managers? A Close Look at the Canadian Mutual FundGovernance; Zhongzhi (Lawrence) He,Martin Kusy, Deepak Singh, Samir Trabelsi Chapter 6. The influence of corporate governance mechanisms on the behavior of financial analysts of US firms; Bouteska Ahmed Chapter 7. Corporate governance that influences an investment intention in the ASEAN Stars Thai Listed companies: A marketing application for brokerage firms; Wasukarn Ngamchom, Malai Kamolsakulchai, Thanomsak Suwannoi, Jutamas Wongkantarakorn Chapter 8. Reconsidering the mandate of the audit committee: evidence from corporate governance in Israel; Omer Berkman, Shlomith D. Zuta