Introduction to the Network

Recent corporate governance scandals in the United States and Europe, some of which have triggered the largest insolvencies in history, have caused a crisis of confidence in the corporate sector. As a result, corporate governance has entered the vocabulary of not only of researchers but also of pension fund beneficiaries, employees of all ranks, chief executive officers and Prime Ministers. Improving corporate governance is now recognized in most countries and policy circles to have first-order macroeconomic consequences and has become a mainstream concern.

The European Corporate Governance Training Network (ECGTN) set out to reduce the European research and training gap in corporate governance by bringing together Europe's leading academics and institutions from law, economics, finance, political economy and management to train doctoral students in conducting world class research in this area.

The ECGTN project was funded by the European Commission under the Marie Curie Research Actions. It lasted 4 years, starting in June 2004 and ending in September 2009. The Co-ordinator of the network was Marco Becht of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR).

For the duration of this project and beyond, this ECGTN website, www.ecgtn.org, acts as a focal point of information and communication for all those involved in the project and in the general interest for the public at large. In particular, it highlights the network's research.

See below some photographs taken during the course of workshops, conferences and summer schools and the social events that accompanied them. ECGTN Workshop and Conference Zurich March 2006               ECGTN Summer school Amsterdam June 2006                                           ECGTN Mid-Term Review Venice September 2006   ECGTN Final Conference Barcelona September 2008