Especially with the evaluation of non-listed (medium-sized) companies, the following problems and significant restrictions pertaining to the applicability of the CAPM must be taken into account when determining cost of capital. 1. Homogeneity of expectations and planning consistency. Given the...

We derive and test q-theory implications for cross-sectional stock returns. Under constant returns to scale, stock returns equal levered investment returns, which are tied directly to firm characteristics. When we use GMM to match average levered investment returns to average observed stock...

Interpreting accruals as working capital investment, we hypothesize based on q-theory that firms optimally adjust their accruals in response to discount rate changes. A higher discount rate means less profitable investments and lower accruals, and a lower discount rate means more profitable...

We analyze the history of the equity risk premium from surveys of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) conducted every quarter from June 2000 to March 2009. The risk premium is the expected 10-year S&P 500 return relative to a 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield. The last two surveys were conducted...

Trillions of dollars are invested through index funds, exchange-traded funds, and other index derivatives. The benefits of index-linked investing are well-known, but the possible broader economic consequences are unstudied. I review research which suggests that index-linked investing is...

We analyze the history of the equity risk premium from surveys of U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) conducted every quarter from June 2000 to June 2010. The risk premium is the expected 10-year S&P 500 return relative to a 10-year U.S. Treasury bond yield. While the risk premium sharply...

Minsky proposed classifying firms in three categories: 1) hedge finance units which borrow no more than they are able to service in interest and principal out of operating cash flows, 2) speculative finance units which are over-leveraged to the point where they can service interest on their debt...

We analyze whether the diversification discount is driven by the book value bias of corporate debt. Book values of debt may be a more downward biased proxy of the market value of debt for diversified firms, relative to undiversified firms, as diversification leads to lower firm risk. Thus,...

This paper examines the motives of debt issuance in hot-debt market periods and its impact on capital structure over the period 1970–2006. We find that perceived capital market conditions as favorable, an indication of market timing, and adverse selection costs of equity (i.e., information...