Robert Anderson IV

A Property Theory of Corporate Law

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In a recent article, I develop a theory of the corporation as a legal entity based upon the foundation of property law, which I call a “property theory of corporate law.” This theory, unlike the contractarian perspective on the corporation, is capable of demarcating the distinctive features of corporate law from other contractual features.

In current legal scholarship, the dominant view of the corporation is contractarian, one that sees the corporation as a nexus of contracts among factors of production. This perspective views employees, creditors, equity investors, and even customers as the various actors who form a set of contracts … Read more

The Delaware Delusion

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Delaware dominates the incorporation market, with approximately 60% of publicly traded companies in the United States incorporated there, including 63% of the Fortune 500 companies. Over 90% of companies that incorporate outside of their principal state of operations make Delaware their state of incorporation. The unresolved question is why corporate lawyers and their clients are drawn to Delaware when most companies have little more than a P.O. Box based in the state.

In The Delaware Delusion, we set out to empirically assess whether there is an economic basis for Delaware’s appeal in the market for company incorporations. We set out … Read more