Recent empirical studies find that options trading enhances firm value by allowing for a more efficient allocation of firm resources. In this paper, we develop and test the hypothesis that, in addition to a more efficient allocation of firm resources, options trading also enhances firm value...

What determines the maturity structure of debt? In this article, I develop a simple model to explore how the optimal maturity of debt issued by a firm (or a country) depends both on the firm’s cyclical state and other features of the economic environment in which it operates. I find that...

This paper investigates whether firm managers time debt issuances according to market liquidity conditions. Using transactions data in the U.S. market from July 2002 to December 2009, our results show that both the moment and volume of debt issuance are significantly associated with periods of...

We investigate equilibrium debt dynamics for a firm that cannot commit to a future debt policy and is subject to a fixed restructuring cost. We formally characterize equilibria when the firm is not required to repurchase outstanding debt prior to issuing additional debt. For realistic values of...

This note revisits the valuation of the tax shield of corporate borrowing when borrowing is not linked to enterprise value. In this case past literature has typically discounted the tax shield at the cost of borrowed capital gross of corporate tax, not net of corporate tax. Yet the latter often...

This article empirically shows that the cost of new debt is higher for firms that commit covenant violations. Using a proxy for product market competition to capture exogenous changes to a firm's competitive environment, I find that the cost is systematically higher for firms that operate in...

We study the implications of longevity shocks for corporate bond markets, corporate debt financing and investment through the lens of life insurers. Longevity shocks shift life insurers' demand for bonds of specific maturities. When longevity increases, life insurance companies increase their...

We are concerned with the valuation of the finite horizon corporate debt under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Broadie and Kaya (2007) set up a binomial model by assuming that determining the bankruptcy boundary is restricted to be at initial time. We distinguish the so-called bankruptcy...

We document that corporates in emerging markets borrow more in foreign currency when the local currency provides a better hedge in downturns. We develop an international corporate finance model in which firms facing adverse selection choose the foreign currency share of their debt. In the unique...