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8. Limited Liability through the Lens of Expected Value Analysis

  • Michael Bakker (author)
  • Rolef de Weijs (author)
Chapter of: Uncovering European Private Law: A Student Handbook(pp. 155–170)
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Title8. Limited Liability through the Lens of Expected Value Analysis
ContributorMichael Bakker (author)
Rolef de Weijs (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0448.08
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0448/chapters/10.11647/obp.0448.08
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CopyrightMichael Bakker; Rolef de Weijs;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-06-05
Long abstract

The aim of this chapter is to illustrate how limited liability rules enable the transfer of risks and costs away from the shareholders of a corporation to other parties, such as creditors. We illustrate this inherent feature of limited liability by applying expected value analysis, a simple and intuitive analytical framework, to two stylised numerical examples. Subsequently, we briefly discuss several legal strategies that seek to address the externalisation of risks and costs through the corporate form.

Page rangepp. 155–170
Print length16 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Locations
Landing PageFull text URLPlatform
PDFhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0448/chapters/10.11647/obp.0448.08Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0448.08.pdfFull text URL
HTMLhttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0448/chapters/10.11647/obp.0448.08Landing pagehttps://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0448/ch8.xhtmlFull text URLPublisher Website
Contributors

Michael Bakker

(author)
PhD Fellow at University of Amsterdam

Michael Bakker, LL.M. is PhD Fellow at the Amsterdam Law School and ACT. In his

research, he focuses on the role of shareholders and the general meeting with respect to

the sustainability/ESG strategy and policy of publicly listed companies. He is a lecturer

in corporate and commercial law. He holds master’s degrees in law (LL.M.) and finance

(M.Sc.) from the University of Amsterdam and he was a visiting student at Columbia Law

School. See https://www.uva.nl/profiel/b/a/m.h.c.bakker/m.h.c.bakker.html#Profiel

Rolef de Weijs

(author)
Professor in Insolvency Law at University of Amsterdam

Prof. Dr. Rolef de Weijs is Professor in Insolvency Law at the Amsterdam Law School

and ACT. He holds a master’s in law and philosophy from Groningen University and

an LL.M. degree from Harvard Law School. He also participated in the Japan Prize

Winners’ Programme. He did his Ph.D. research at the Amsterdam Institute for Private

law. In 2010, he defended his Ph.D. thesis ‘Faillissementspauliana, Insolvenzanfechtung

& Transaction Avoidance in Insolvencies’. De Weijs specialises in insolvency law,

corporate law, and corporate finance. De Weijs practices law as an attorney and a court

appointed trustee in bankruptcy at Houthoff, a law firm in Amsterdam. See https://

www.uva.nl/profiel/w/e/r.j.deweijs/r.j.deweijs.html

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