We evaluate motives for share repurchases using a unified framework where a firm has a target capital structure and has equity that can be mispriced. We document that capital structure adjustments are a value-increasing motive for repurchases and that the extent to which adjusting capital...

This paper examines international differences in banks' capital structure adjustments across a large panel of 94 countries over the period 1993 to 2007. A bank's ability to adjust its capital ratio is influenced by corporate governance, public policy, market structure, and bank regulatory...

Given the increasing importance of private equity in the world economy, we examine the strategic decision to finance a business in an international context by evaluating whether private equity is a substitute for or a complement to other sources of external finance. We find strong evidence that...

We find that equity mispricing impacts the speed at which firms adjust to their target leverage and does so in predictable ways depending on whether the firm is over- or underlevered. For example, firms that are above their target leverage and should therefore issue equity (or retire debt),...

This article examines the international determinants of capital structure using a large sample of firms drawn from 37 counties. The reliable determinants for leverage are firm size, tangibility, industry leverage, profits, and inflation. The quality of the countries' institutions affects...