We explore whether government ownership affects the cost of debt using a sample of fully and partially privatized companies. On average across firms, a one-percentage-point decrease in government ownership is associated with an increase in the credit spread, used as a proxy for the cost of debt,...

We examine the determinants of non-resident government debt ownership, accounting for domestic and external factors and financial variables during the period 2000Q2-2014Q4, focussing on a small euro area open economy: Portugal. Our results show that better fiscal positions, higher systematic...