This paper, instead of focusing on agency cost, analyzes the role of risk-sharing under problems of enforceability (default) to explain the optimal determination of capital structure. Optimal contract structure presents equity and debt.

Using internal data of a leasing company in Germany, we examine the determinants of the probability and use of leasing by small firms. We find that small and young firms are likely to be constrained on the leasing market but use leasing to increase their debt capacity. Beyond contract- and...

(VF)Cet article révèle une association négative forte entre la réglementation du travail et l’endettement financier des entreprises, sur un large échantillon d’entreprises cotées des 21 pays les plus riches de l’OCDE. L’hypothèse développée est que la réglementation du travail...

We study a general equilibrium model in which firms choose their capital structure optimally, trading off the tax advantages of debt against the risk of costly default. The costs of default are endogenous: bankrupt firms are forced to liquidate their assets, resulting in a fire sale if there is...

Existing theories of a firm’s optimal capital structure seem to fail in explaining why many healthy and profitable firms rely heavily on equity financing, even though benefits associated with debt (like tax shields) appear to be high and the bankruptcy risk low. This holds in particular for...

This paper examines the impact of thin capitalization rules that limit the tax deductibility of interest on the capital structure of the foreign affiliates of US multinationals. We construct a new data set on thin capitalization rules in 54 countries for the period 1982-2004. Using confidential...

Since its publication, the seminal structural model of default by <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B45">Merton (1974) has become the workhorse for gaining insights about how firms choose their capital structure, a “bread and butter” topic for financial economists. Capital structure theory is inevitably linked to several...</xref>

The capital structure of lending institutions has become an increasingly prominent issue in the world of finance. Contemporaneously, microfinance institutions (MFIs) have risen to the forefront as invaluable lending institutions in the development process. Since capital constraints have hindered...

This paper examines the relationship between capital structure and the inner structure of pyramid in an emerging market economy country. The author uses firm-level panel data of Chinese listed companies to analyze the influence of the inner structure of pyramid on capital structure and the...

We investigate the interdependence of debt financing and R&D activities of young firms. Using micro-level data of the KfW/ZEW Start-up Panel, our estimation results show that firm characteristics are more important than personal characteristics of the founders for explaining young firms'...