I show that access to the public debt market is associated with a significant reduction in the level of capital expenditures and takeovers, especially for firms with higher credit risk. Firms accessing the bond market also become less likely to violate debt covenants, reduce the level of payouts...

We extend the quantitative corporate finance framework of Hennessy and Whited (2005) by introducing long-term defaultable debt and stochastic volatility. These features lead to significantly lower leverage and higher default probabilities, and a stronger negative correlation of investment with...

Performance sensitive debt (PSD) contracts link the paid coupon to a measure of firm performance. PSD contracts are widely used, especially as corporate bank loans. In a model where a firm has assets in place and the opportunity to invest in a growth option, I analyze how PSD affects...