Corporate governance models and economic and financial indicators of private Higher Education Institutions: an analysis of the Brazilian capital market

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance models and economic and financial indicators of maintainer entities of Higher Education Institutions present in the Brazilian capital market. To characterize the corporate governance models of these maintainer entities, 12 defining characteristics present in the literature were used. The economic and financial indicators used were: liquidity, activity, indebtedness, profitability and, market. Documental research was carried out with data collected from Comdinheiro and other sources. The period investigated was seven years, between 2013 and 2019, with data analyzed using the chi-square test. The evidence indicates the formation of two groups: (1) Group A, formed by YDUQS Participações S.A., and Cogna Educacional S.A. which have a typically Anglo-Saxon corporate governance model; and (2) Group B, formed by Ânima Holding S.A., and Ser Educacional S.A. which have a typically Latin American corporate governance model. When analyzing the relationship between these two groups and the economic and financial indicators, it was found that Group A has (a) lower indebtedness and (b) higher Dividend Yield rates, when compared to Group B. There is evidence that Anglo-Saxon governance has the potential to generate greater economic and financial benefits for the maintainer entities that adopt this model.

Keywords: Private higher education institutions; Corporate governance models; Economic and financial indicators