This paper presents an empirical investigation of scaling and multifractal properties of US Dollar–Deutschemark (USD–DEM) returns. The data set is ten years of 5-min returns. The cumulative return distributions of positive and negative tails at different time intervals are linear in the...

This paper examines debt-free firms. We find that favorable equity market valuation and borrowing constraints contribute to these firms' extreme debt conservatism. Small debt-free firms with little access to credit markets are seen to raise equity while paying high dividends. Large debt-free...

This paper explores pyramidal firms and their motivations for the use of debt financing. We find that pyramids have significantly higher leverage than non-pyramids and that the use of debt in pyramids is associated with the risk of expropriation. We do not find evidence for the...

This paper examines the relation between dividend smoothing and asymmetric information between managers and investors. We find that the extent of dividend smoothing are negatively related to the measures of information asymmetry. Firms with higher levels of asymmetric information have a higher...

This paper investigates the impact of pyramid ownership structure and multiple controlling shareholders on firm leverage. Pyramids, having at least one controlling shareholder and a subsidiary, rely significantly more on debt financing than non-pyramid firms. Moreover, higher leverage is...

This paper examines the relationship between innovation and firms' dependence on external capital by analyzing the innovation activities of privately-held and publicly-traded firms. We find that public firms in external finance dependent industries generate patents of higher quantity, quality,...

Project finance links financial structure to the operational characteristics of the project to optimize the allocations of various project risks. We develop a model in which concession grants and offtake agreements benefit both public and private sponsors in the presence of political risk. The...

This paper explores pyramidal firms and their motivations for the use of debt financing. We find that pyramids have significantly higher leverage than non-pyramids and that the use of debt in pyramids is associated with the risk of expropriation. We do not find evidence for the...

This paper examines the relationship between innovation and firms' dependence on external capital by analyzing the innovation activities of privately-held and publicly-traded firms We find that public firms in external finance dependent industries generate patents of higher quantity, quality,...