ABSTRACT
The financial crisis and the economic slowdown which started with the credit crunch on the American subprime mortgage led to the sovereign debt crisis and the severe uncertainty on stock markets in the majority of developed economies. The growing economic challenges triggered the formulation and adoption of many codes of best practice and a set of recommendations which are intended to improve the performance of companies and countries. The adoption of more restricted regulations, the discipline of national budgets, and the supervision over public debt policies as well as the stock market belong to the most debated recommendations. The additional set of recommendations is provided by the codes of corporate governance which refer to the structure and size of executive compensation, board work, composition and structure, shareholder activism and rights execution and risk management. The answers to the economic slowdown are also to be found in the social policy which addresses the issues of social mobility, innovation and creativity.
