Corporate insider trading: A literature review

The last three decades have seen the issue of corporate insider trading come to the fore. With the emergence of corporate governance as a central concern to regulators and academies, the trading activity of corporate insiders neatly spans both governance and corporate finance policy areas. This review article synthesises the main ideas and the most important empirical research in corporate insider trading. Since regulation is the main backdrop to insider trading, the current law facing European corporations is also discussed. Finally, the review concludes by providing an insight into the future direction of research in corporate insider trading.