There appears to be a link between this precipitous drop in the average duration of stock holdings and the phenomenon of the so-called “ownerless corporation,” whereby shareholders have little incentive to impose discipline on management. That absence of accountability, in turn, has contributed to the vertiginous rise in senior executives’ compensation and, in financial firms, to a shift away from shareholder returns and towards large payouts to insiders.
在危机爆发前的十年里，美国金融市场的成交量增长了3倍。实体经济受益了吗？霍尔丹援引了一组显著的统计数据：1945年，一般投资者持美国股票的平均时间为4年。到2000年，平均持股的时间已降到8个月；到2008年，平均持股时间为2个月了。