Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Working Knowledge
Business Research for Business Leaders
  • Browse All Articles
  • Popular Articles
  • Cold Call Podcasts
  • About Us
  • Leadership
  • Marketing
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Entrepreneurship
  • All Topics...
  • Topics
    • COVID-19
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Finance
    • Gender
    • Globalization
    • Leadership
    • Management
    • Negotiation
    • Social Enterprise
    • Strategy
  • Sections
    • Book
    • Cold Call Podcast
    • HBS Case
    • In Practice
    • Lessons from the Classroom
    • Op-Ed
    • Research & Ideas
    • Research Event
    • Sharpening Your Skills
    • What Do You Think?
    • Working Paper Summaries
  • Browse All
    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Voluntary, Self-Regulatory, and Mandatory Disclosure of Oil and Gas Company Payments to Foreign Governments
      21 Mar 2016Working Paper Summaries

      Voluntary, Self-Regulatory, and Mandatory Disclosure of Oil and Gas Company Payments to Foreign Governments

      by Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim
      Throughout its history the oil and gas industry has been vulnerable to expropriation and corruption. To this day, oil and gas firms provide very limited voluntary disclosure on payments to host governments, and that pattern has not changed materially over time. This paper shows that industry-level self-regulation may be effective in enhancing transparency when individual firms are reluctant to voluntarily disclose payments.
      LinkedIn
      Email

      Author Abstract

      Transparency advocates argue that disclosure of oil and gas company payments to host governments for natural resources is a public good, helping to reduce corruption and increase accountability in resource rich countries. Yet we find a very low frequency of voluntary disclosures of payments to host governments by oil and gas firms, and negative stock price reactions for affected firms at the announcement of regulations mandating disclosure. This suggests that sample firm managers and their investors perceive that there are private costs of such voluntary disclosures, contributing to continued low transparency and weak governance in resource rich countries. However, we document that industry self-regulation has generated information to substitute for the gap in voluntary company disclosure. We also find some evidence that these disclosures are accompanied by lower country corruption ratings, suggesting that collective action may be an effective way for the industry to manage the private costs of disclosure and respond to public pressure to improve governance in resource rich countries.

      Paper Information

      • Full Working Paper Text
      • Working Paper Publication Date: March 2016
      • HBS Working Paper Number: 16-099
      • Faculty Unit(s): Accounting and Management
        Trending
          • 06 Jan 2021
          • Research & Ideas

          Unexpected Exercise Advice for the Super Busy: Ditch the Rigid Routine

          • 11 Jan 2021
          • Research & Ideas

          Is A/B Testing Effective? Evidence from 35,000 Startups

          • 13 Jan 2021
          • Research & Ideas

          How 'Small C' Change Can Beat Large-Scale Rebuilding

          • 13 Jul 2020
          • Research & Ideas

          Merck CEO Ken Frazier Discusses a COVID Cure, Racism, and Why Leaders Need to Walk the Talk

          • 25 Feb 2019
          • Research & Ideas

          How Gender Stereotypes Kill a Woman’s Self-Confidence

      Paul M. Healy
      Paul M. Healy
      James R. Williston Professor of Business Administration
      Contact
      Send an email
      → More Articles
      George Serafeim
      George Serafeim
      Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration
      Contact
      Send an email
      → More Articles
      Find Related Articles
      • Business and Government Relations
      • Government and Politics
      • Energy

      Sign up for our weekly newsletter

      Interested in improving your business? Learn about fresh research and ideas from Harvard Business School faculty.
      ǁ
      Campus Map
      Harvard Business School Working Knowledge
      Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
      Soldiers Field
      Boston, MA 02163
      Email: Editor-in-Chief
      →Map & Directions
      →More Contact Information
      • Make a Gift
      • Site Map
      • Jobs
      • Harvard University
      • Trademarks
      • Policies
      • Digital Accessibility
      Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College