Investment without Return

This book is about protecting the interests of the public in the highly complex environment of corporate financial distress. The purpose of the book is to study systematically the subject of governmental concessions for financially distressed firms. Examples of such concessions are abundant, and they are pursued by financially distressed firms in both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy contexts. The work examines how a government can balance the interests of the firm and its stakeholders with the interests of the general public. It discusses key questions such as: How does the government strike such a balance? What are the problems that arise when financially distressed firms petition the government for a concession, and what should be done to correct them? These questions are of significant importance as the social costs of governmental concessions may be higher than the costs associated with any other form of governmental aid to the private sector. At a time of heightened interest in sound financial regulation, the book will be a valuable guide for students, researchers and policy-makers in this and related areas such as public policy and governance.