Managerial Economics & Business Strategy 8th Edition by Michael Baye,Jeff Prince

Exercise 21

Section 16(a) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended in 1990, requires that the officers, directors, and principal shareholders of companies disclose the extent of their ownership of equity securities of the company and any changes in the ownership. Section 16(b) permits companies to recover trading profits realized by such people arising from short-swing transactions in the company securities. Do you think that, as a result of these laws, the government will be forced to spend more money on its auditing and enforcement efforts? Explain.