Lemmon et al. (2008) show two features of the data on capital structure: convergence and persistence. I replicate their results and then explore the source of the convergence feature. I show that capital structure convergence is likely to be mechanical rather than real. It sources from a...

For a large sample of 48 countries, we find robust evidence that strong creditor rights are associated with low long-term leverage across countries. We further find that strong creditor protection lowers long-term debt issuance, the extent to which investments are financed with long-term debt,...

We propose a novel approach for studying optimal capital structure under the prevalent corporate income tax regime where full tax deductibility of interest is permitted. Then, following the OECD proposed BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) framework, we impose an EBITDA-based limit on the...

We examine the determinants of bank capital structure using a sample of 569 large and publicly traded banks in 26 developed and emerging countries over the period 2004-2013. We use simultaneously two notions of capital ratio (risk- and non-risk based capital ratio) to provide a more...

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) manipulate the location of their debts to reduce their corporate tax burden. Indeed, by locating debts in higher-tax rate countries, MNEs can deduct interest payments against a higher tax rate. This paper provides evidence of such manipulation of debt location....

The question why firms voluntarily forgo considerable portions of their debt capacity is puzzling financial economists. Across a wide range of industries and countries, empirically observed equity ratios are significantly higher as expected by classical capital structure theories. A potential...

In its 2015 Final Report on “Measuring and Monitoring BEPS, Action 11”, the OECD introduced six indicators to quantify and evaluate base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) activity over time. In this study, we revisit three selected indicators, provide a numerical update for recent periods...

Increased activity of multinational firms exposes national corporate tax bases to cross-country profit shifting, but also leads to rising profitability of the corporate sector. We incorporate these two effects of economic integration into a simple political economy model where the median voter...

As part of its action plan against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), the OECD (2015) has proposed six indicators to measure profit shifting activity. These indicators add to past and ongoing efforts in academic tax research to empirically identify the scale and tax sensitivity of...