The financial crisis, which started in 2007 and still has large parts of the world in its stranglehold, refocused attention on corporate governance policies that were introduced in the aftermath of the financial scandals of the early years of the century. The current volume does not endeavour new explanations of the crisis, but by discussing such issues as governance indices, executive pay, shareholder activism, mergers and acquisitions regulation, and employee participation, provides additional insights into some indirect causes. It is suggested that governance codes can only take us halfway to proper managerial behaviour, that shareholder activism, while perhaps justified at first sight, may contribute to undesirable short-termism, and that new government policies meant to encourage welfare-enhancing mergers have an opposite effect.