TY  - JOUR
AU  - Scholes,Myron S.
AU  - Wolfson,Mark A.
TI  - Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Corporate Restructuring: Myths and Realities
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 3094
PY  - 1989
Y2  - September 1989
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3094
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w3094.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Myron S. Scholes
34 Stern Lane
Atherton, CA  94027
Tel: 650/234-0521
Fax: 650/234-0525
E-Mail: mscholes@pgamlp.com

Mark A. Wolfson
Graduate School of Business
Stanford University
Stanford, CA  94305-5015
Tel: 650/234-0505
Fax: 650/234-0525
E-Mail: wolfson_mark@gsb.stanford.edu
AB  - During the first six months of 1989 U.s. corporations acquired over $19 billion of their own stock to establish employer stock ownership plans (ESOPs). We evaluate the common claims that there exist unique tax and incentive contracting advantages to establishing ESOPs. Our analysis suggests that, particularly for large firms, where the greatest growth in ESOPs has occurred, the case is very weak for taxes being the primary motivation to establish an ESOP. The case is also weak for employee incentives being the driving force behind their establishment. We conclude that the main motivation for the growth of ESOPs is their  anti-takeover characteristics.
ER  -