IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v90y2024icp283-296.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Executives with business education background and cost of debt financing: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Xie, Linlin
  • Liu, Yangbo
  • Jiang, Tianhao

Abstract

We have examined the impact of executives possessing a business education background on the cost of debt financing. Our findings reveal that executives with such background significantly elevate the cost of debt financing, and the conclusion remains consistent after a series of robustness tests. Moreover, we observe this impact is particularly pronounced among chairmen of non-state-owned enterprises, and is more substantial in environments characterized by weaker internal and external regulatory frameworks. In the examination of underlying mechanisms, we identify that executives with a business education background contribute to an increased cost of debt financing by escalating financial risk, information asymmetry, and agency costs. This paper furnishes empirical evidence that enhances our comprehensive understanding of the cost of debt financing and its determinants.

Suggested Citation

  • Xie, Linlin & Liu, Yangbo & Jiang, Tianhao, 2024. "Executives with business education background and cost of debt financing: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 283-296.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:90:y:2024:i:c:p:283-296
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2023.12.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056023004501
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2023.12.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yiming Hu & Mingxia Xu, 2019. "China’s anti-corruption campaign, political connections and private firms’ debt financing," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 9(4), pages 521-553, August.
    2. Cronqvist, Henrik & Makhija, Anil K. & Yonker, Scott E., 2012. "Behavioral consistency in corporate finance: CEO personal and corporate leverage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 20-40.
    3. Adams, John C. & Mansi, Sattar A., 2009. "CEO turnover and bondholder wealth," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 522-533, March.
    4. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    5. Vincent L. Barker , III & George C. Mueller, 2002. "CEO Characteristics and Firm R&D Spending," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 782-801, June.
    6. Burak Güner, A. & Malmendier, Ulrike & Tate, Geoffrey, 2008. "Financial expertise of directors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 323-354, May.
    7. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Qiang Wu, 2015. "Professors in the Boardroom and Their Impact on Corporate Governance and Firm Performance," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 44(3), pages 547-581, September.
    8. Boubakri, Narjess & Cosset, Jean-Claude & Saffar, Walid, 2008. "Political connections of newly privatized firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 654-673, December.
    9. Liu, Guangqiang & Xie, Ziqin & Li, Ming, 2023. "Does economics and management education make managers more cautious? Evidence from R&D of Chinese listed firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Rajan, Raghuram G, 1992. "Insiders and Outsiders: The Choice between Informed and Arm's-Length Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1367-1400, September.
    11. Merton, Robert C, 1974. "On the Pricing of Corporate Debt: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 449-470, May.
    12. Hyunseob Kim & Howard Kung, 2017. "The Asset Redeployability Channel: How Uncertainty Affects Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 245-280.
    13. Michael Jensen & Edward J. Zajac, 2004. "Corporate elites and corporate strategy: how demographic preferences and structural position shape the scope of the firm," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(6), pages 507-524, June.
    14. Verrecchia, Robert E., 1983. "Discretionary disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 179-194, April.
    15. Koh, Ping-Sheng, 2003. "On the association between institutional ownership and aggressive corporate earnings management in Australia," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 105-128.
    16. Francis, Jennifer & LaFond, Ryan & Olsson, Per & Schipper, Katherine, 2005. "The market pricing of accruals quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 295-327, June.
    17. Jianhua Du & Chao Bian & Christopher Gan, 2017. "Bank competition, government intervention and SME debt financing," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 7(4), pages 478-492, September.
    18. Stijn Claessens & Luc Laeven, 2003. "Financial Development, Property Rights, and Growth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2401-2436, December.
    19. Li, Chan & Sun, Lili & Ettredge, Michael, 2010. "Financial executive qualifications, financial executive turnover, and adverse SOX 404 opinions," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 93-110, May.
    20. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1986. "Large Shareholders and Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(3), pages 461-488, June.
    21. Derrien, François & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar A., 2016. "Information asymmetry, the cost of debt, and credit events: Evidence from quasi-random analyst disappearances," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 295-311.
    22. Amir Sufi, 2007. "Information Asymmetry and Financing Arrangements: Evidence from Syndicated Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 629-668, April.
    23. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1995. "What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence from International Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1421-1460, December.
    24. Thorsten Beck & Asli Demirgüç‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2005. "Financial and Legal Constraints to Growth: Does Firm Size Matter?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 137-177, February.
    25. Liu, Yixin & Jiraporn, Pornsit, 2010. "The effect of CEO power on bond ratings and yields," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 744-762, September.
    26. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2003. "Who gets credit? The behavior of bureaucrats and state banks in allocating credit to Chinese state-owned enterprises," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 533-559, August.
    27. Hongling Guo & Keping Wu, 2020. "Does opening high-speed railways affect the cost of debt financing? A quasi-natural experiment," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(4), pages 473-496, May.
    28. Pound, John, 1988. "Proxy contests and the efficiency of shareholder oversight," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 237-265, January.
    29. John Graham & Campbell Harvey, 2002. "HOW DO CFOs MAKE CAPITAL BUDGETING AND CAPITAL STRUCTURE DECISIONS?," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 15(1), pages 8-23, March.
    30. Xie, Biao & Davidson, Wallace III & DaDalt, Peter J., 2003. "Earnings management and corporate governance: the role of the board and the audit committee," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 295-316, June.
    31. Chung, Richard & Firth, Michael & Kim, Jeong-Bon, 2002. "Institutional monitoring and opportunistic earnings management," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 29-48, January.
    32. Zulfiqar Ali Memon & Yan Chen & Muhammad Zubair Tauni & Hashmat Ali, 2018. "The impact of cash flow volatility on firm leverage and debt maturity structure: evidence from China," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(1), pages 69-91, January.
    33. Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2003. "Effect of Corporate Governance on Bond Ratings and Yields: The Role of Institutional Investors and Outside Directors," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(3), pages 455-476, July.
    34. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Warner, Jerold B., 1979. "On financial contracting : An analysis of bond covenants," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 117-161, June.
    35. Kabir, Rezaul & Li, Hao & Veld-Merkoulova, Yulia V., 2013. "Executive compensation and the cost of debt," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(8), pages 2893-2907.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    2. Chu Wang & Char-Lee Lok & Lian Kee Phua, 2023. "Ownership Structure and Capital Structure: Moderating Effect of Product Market Maturity," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    3. Roberts, Gordon & Yuan, Lianzeng (Edward), 2010. "Does institutional ownership affect the cost of bank borrowing?," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 62(6), pages 604-626, November.
    4. Kiyoung Chang & Ying Li & Ha‐Chin Yi, 2021. "Informed equity ownership and bank loan contracting," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(7-8), pages 1368-1403, July.
    5. Kim, Young Sang & Kim, Yura & Yi, Ha-Chin, 2021. "Vice or virtue? The impact of earnings management on bank loan agreements," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 303-324.
    6. Lemma, Tesfaye T. & Negash, Minga & Mlilo, Mthokozisi & Lulseged, Ayalew, 2018. "Institutional ownership, product market competition, and earnings management: Some evidence from international data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 151-163.
    7. Lo, Huai-Chun & Wu, Ruei-Shian & Kweh, Qian Long, 2017. "Do institutional investors reinforce or reduce agency problems? Earnings management and the post-IPO performance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 62-76.
    8. Wu, Ruei-Shian & Lo, Huai-Chun, 2022. "A Rose has its Thorn: The role of institutional investors in SEO firms’ reporting behavior," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 530-554.
    9. Chia-Ying Chan & Iftekhar Hasan & Chih-Yung Lin, 2021. "Agency cost of CEO perquisites in bank loan contracts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1221-1258, May.
    10. Saiying Deng & Vincent J. Intintoli & Andrew Zhang, 2019. "CEO Turnover, Information Uncertainty, and Debt Contracting," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(02), pages 1-54, June.
    11. Najah Attig & Sean Cleary & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2013. "Institutional Investment Horizons and the Cost of Equity Capital," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 42(2), pages 441-477, June.
    12. Lim, Youngdeok, 2011. "Tax avoidance, cost of debt and shareholder activism: Evidence from Korea," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 456-470, February.
    13. Driss, Hamdi & Drobetz, Wolfgang & El Ghoul, Sadok & Guedhami, Omrane, 2021. "Institutional investment horizons, corporate governance, and credit ratings: International evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Shailer, Greg & Wang, Kun, 2015. "Government ownership and the cost of debt for Chinese listed corporations," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 1-17.
    15. Bill Francis & Iftekhar Hasan & Michael Koetter & Qiang Wu, 2012. "Corporate Boards And Bank Loan Contracting," Journal of Financial Research, Southern Finance Association;Southwestern Finance Association, vol. 35(4), pages 521-552, December.
    16. Cull, Robert & Li, Wei & Sun, Bo & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2015. "Government connections and financial constraints: Evidence from a large representative sample of Chinese firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 271-294.
    17. Li, Tongxia & Lu, Chun & Chen, Zhihua, 2023. "The unintended consequence of collateral-based financing: Evidence from corporate cost behavior," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1).
    18. Lei Xu & Qian Liu & Bin Li & Chen Ma, 2022. "Fintech business and firm access to bank loans," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4381-4421, December.
    19. Isabel Abinzano & Pilar Corredor & Beatriz Martinez, 2021. "Does family ownership always reduce default risk?," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(3), pages 4025-4060, September.
    20. Luqiao Zhang & Biao Mi & Yun Shen & Liang Han, 2023. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do: loan syndication in a state-dominated market," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1469-1494, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:90:y:2024:i:c:p:283-296. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.