Using a unique database of 381 newly privatized firms from 57 countries, we investigate the impact of shareholders' identity on corporate risk-taking behavior. We find strong and robust evidence that state (foreign) ownership is negatively (positively) related to corporate risk-taking. Moreover,...

We investigate the control structure of 221 privatized firms from 27 emerging countries over the period 1980 to 2001. Specifically, we examine the determinants of residual state ownership after privatization over a window of up to six years after divestiture. We find that the residual state...

To investigate the control structure of newly privatized firms, we use a unique database of 221 privatized firms operating in 27 emerging countries over the 1980-2001 period. Specifically, we examine the determinants of residual state ownership after privatization over a window of up to six...

We investigate the effect of mandatory international financial reporting standards (IFRS) adoption on trade credit. We document that firms in countries that adopt IFRS receive more trade credit from their suppliers, consistent with improved financial reporting quality and comparability playing a...

In this paper, we examine how the timeliness of loan loss recognition within the banking system affects borrowers' debt structure. Using data from 55 countries, we find that more timely loan loss recognition reduces firms' reliance on bank debt, consistent with firms relying less on bank debt...

Policy uncertainty (PU) is an increasingly important issue in many economies. Extensive evidence indicates that higher PU is associated with future negative macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions. In this paper, we examine how PU affects banks' accruals for loan losses. Consistent with banks...

Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) increases the cost of raising equity capital, especially when the economy is weak. A one standard deviation increase in the EPU index developed by Baker, Bloom, and Davis (2016) is associated with a 43 basis point increase in the price discount of seasoned...

We investigate whether and how firm-level political uncertainty affects firms' bank loan contracting. We find that firms facing higher firm-level political uncertainty are charged higher bank loan costs. This impact is amplified for firms with higher degrees of information asymmetry and firms...

In this study, we investigate the role of national culture in firms' choice between bank debt and public debt. We postulate that culture influences corporate debt choice through five channels. Using a new international dataset on debt structure and a large sample of firms from 30 countries, we...

Economic policy uncertainty (EPU) raises firms' incentive to lobby policymakers to access policy information and influence policy outcomes. Surprisingly, we find that non-lobbying firms are less likely to initiate lobbying during heightened EPU periods. The evidence is consistent with our...