We propose a method to consistently estimate the cost of debt in a continuous-time framework with an infinite time horizon. The approach builds on the EBIT-based model of Goldstein et al. (2001). The model is capable of splitting the observed yield spread of a corporate bond into the risk...

This paper studies the joint effect of conservatism and aggregation on the cost of equity capital and the efficiency of debt contracts. In the model, a firm's two assets are valued at either the lower-of-cost-or-market or fair value and the accounting report aggregates the value of the two...

This paper empirically shows that the cost of bank debt is systematically higher for firms that operate in competitive product markets. Using various proxies for product market competition, and reductions of import tariffs to capture exogenous changes to a firm's competitive environment, I find...

How valuable are restrictive debt covenants in reducing the agency costs of debt? I exploit the revealed preference decision to refinance fixed-coupon bonds, which weighs observable interest rate savings against the unobservable costs of a change in restrictive covenants. Variation in this...

We investigate how the banking industry concentration and the strength of credit relationships (relationship lending) jointly affect the cost of borrowing of firms. Our results indicate that relationship lending is not associated with the rent extraction mechanism deriving from informational...

We examine whether criminal records of CEOs and rank-and-file employees are associated with firms’ likelihood of bankruptcy and whether lenders adjust their required cost of debt accordingly. We use a nationwide sample of private firms and criminal registers covering all firm employees. We...

This study examines how different components of executive compensation affect the cost of debt. We find that debt-like and equity-like pay components have differing effects: an increase in defined benefit pensions is associated with lower bond yield spread, while higher share holdings lead to...