This model adds to the standard neoclassical model of business fluctuations by introducing a more realistic capital structure problem, where firms have to balance the tax benefits of debt with the costs of potential financial distress. Therefore, firms solve a dynamic problem with both an...

This paper analyzes the interaction between financial leverage and takeover activity. We develop a dynamic model of takeovers in which the financing strategies of bidding firms and the timing and terms of takeovers are jointly determined. In the paper, capital structure plays the role of a...

A change in the corporate tax level can have a significant impact on rate making and capital structure for insurance companies. The purpose of this paper is to study this effect on competitive equity-premium combinations for different asset and liability models while retaining a fixed safety...

This paper develops a principal-agent model of financial contracting in which optimal contracts resemble a combination of debt and equity. When defaulting on debt, the firm is punished by disruption of external funding. Such contracts however, invite rivals to compete more aggressively to...

The current EU rules governing the solvency of insurance companies essentially base the required minimum equity capital on the volume of insurance business the companies write. Thus, no attempt is made to identify or quantify the central risks borne by insurance companies. In response to...

This paper analyzes the determinants of the capital structure for a panel of 106 Swiss companies listed in the Swiss stock exchange.

Even 50 years after Modigliani/Miller’s irrelevance theorem, the basic question of how firmschoose their capital structure remains unclear. This survey paper aims at summarizing anddiscussing corresponding recent developments in empirical capital structure research, which,in our view, are...

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 firmcharacteristics are more important than personal characteristics of the founders for explainingyoung firms’...

We test the hypotheses that, in presence of financial constraints, a low leverage policy directed at maintaining financial flexibility can affect company investment. Low leverage is defined according to deviations from target which are estimated via GMS-SYS. Our analysis reveals that, following...