We present evidence on the efficiency of the resolution of financial distress in bankruptcy in The Netherlands. We employ a unique data set based on the files of the trustees and court offices, which includes the characteristics of the firms before and in the bankruptcy procedures, the details...

We examine 865 acquisitions by Dutch industrial firms over the period 1993ndash;2004. Theoretical work based on principalndash;agent problems predicts that managers of exchange-listed corporations may pursue acquisitions even when these do not add value for the shareholders. Corporate governance...

The consequences of international accounting standards are likely to reach beyond the impact on financial statements. This paper demonstrates one of the economic implications of international standards. We focus on the impact of the IFRS regulation on preference shares (IAS 32) in the...

We examine fees on bonds issued by Japanese corporations during the 1994-2002 period. We relate fees to firms' membership of bank-led (financial) keiretsu. For the full sample of firms, we establish a positive relation between fees and risk factors. Over time, we find that fees have increased...

In this paper we present the results of an international survey among 313 CFOs on capitalstructure choice. We document several interesting insights on how theoretical concepts arebeing applied by professionals in the U.K., the Netherlands, Germany, and France and wedirectly compare our results...

We examine the relationship between exchange-rate changes and stock returns for a sample of Dutch firms over 1994-1998. We find that over 50% of the firms are significantly exposed to exchange-rate risk. Furthermore, all firms with significant exchange-rate exposure benefit from a depreciation...

This paper investigates the timing of a firm's first security issue in public capital markets. We explain fluctuations over time in initial public offerings of bonds and stocks. We study Belgium in the period 1839-1935, a setting with poor investor protection, no tax distortions and changing...

This paper analyses ownership and control structures of Dutch listed companies. Legislation effective since 1992 mandates all shareholders with holdings of 5 percent or more in Dutch companies to disclose their holdings. Our analysis shows that the average ownership stakes of the largest and the...

We study incremental capital structure decisions of Dutch companies. From 1977 to 1996 these companies have made 110 issues of public and private seasoned equity and 137 public issues of straight debt. Managers of Dutch companies are entrenched. For this reason a discrepancy exists between...

This paper examines the relation between cash flow, corporate governance and fixed-investment spending. In perfect capital markets we expect no systematic relationship. However, Myers and Majluf's (1984) asymmetric information hypothesis and Jensen's (1986) managerial discretion hypothesis...