This paper analyzes the effect of banking liberalization on debt structure in a sample of firms in 37 developed and developing countries. Banking liberalization increases on average debt availability and reduces its maturity. Debt availability increases in countries with stronger supervision and...

This paper analyzes the effect of financial leverage on corporate operating performance and how this effect varies across countries. Results for 10,375 firms in 39 countries indicate that the performance of firms with greater leverage is significantly reduced compared to their competitors in...