IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v8y2020i4p76-d420835.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do DJIA Firms Reflect Stationary Debt Ratios?

Author

Listed:
  • Feng-Li Lin

    (Department of Accounting, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 413310, Taiwan)

Abstract

To form optimum firm capital structure strategies to face unanticipated economic events, firm managers should understand the stability of a firm’s capital structure. The aim of this research was to study whether the debt ratio is stationary in listed firms on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). Two vital capital structure concepts regarding pecking order and trade-off theory are fairly contradictory. Using opposing theoretical contexts, the Sequential Panel Selection Method apparently categorizes which and how many series are stationary processes in the panel. This method was used to test the mean reverting properties of the 25 companies listed on Dow Jones Industrial Average between 2001 and 2017 in this study, which is expected to fill the current gap in the literature. The overall results show that stationary debt ratios exist in 10 of the 25 studied firms, supporting the trade-off theory. Moreover, the 10 firms utilizing trade-off theory are affected by firm size, profitability, growth opportunity, and dividend payout ratio. These results provide vital information for firms to certify strategies to optimize capital structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng-Li Lin, 2020. "Do DJIA Firms Reflect Stationary Debt Ratios?," Economies, MDPI, vol. 8(4), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:8:y:2020:i:4:p:76-:d:420835
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/8/4/76/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/8/4/76/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guanqun Tong & Christopher Green, 2005. "Pecking order or trade-off hypothesis? Evidence on the capital structure of Chinese companies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(19), pages 2179-2189.
    2. Chang, Chun & Yu, Xiaoyun, 2010. "Informational Efficiency and Liquidity Premium as the Determinants of Capital Structure," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(2), pages 401-440, April.
    3. Kapetanios, George & Shin, Yongcheol & Snell, Andy, 2003. "Testing for a unit root in the nonlinear STAR framework," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 112(2), pages 359-379, February.
    4. Moon, H.R.Hyungsik Roger & Perron, Benoit, 2004. "Testing for a unit root in panels with dynamic factors," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 122(1), pages 81-126, September.
    5. Saurabh Chadha & Anil K. Sharma, 2015. "Determinants of capital structure: an empirical evaluation from India," Journal of Advances in Management Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(1), pages 3-14, May.
    6. Leland, Hayne E, 1994. "Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1213-1252, September.
    7. Ju, Nengjiu & Parrino, Robert & Poteshman, Allen M. & Weisbach, Michael S., 2005. "Horses and Rabbits? Trade-Off Theory and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 259-281, June.
    8. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    9. Jushan Bai & Serena Ng, 2004. "A PANIC Attack on Unit Roots and Cointegration," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(4), pages 1127-1177, July.
    10. Mark T. Leary & Michael R. Roberts, 2005. "Do Firms Rebalance Their Capital Structures?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2575-2619, December.
    11. Maddala, G S & Wu, Shaowen, 1999. "A Comparative Study of Unit Root Tests with Panel Data and a New Simple Test," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(0), pages 631-652, Special I.
    12. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    13. Chang, Chingfu & Lee, Alice C. & Lee, Cheng F., 2009. "Determinants of capital structure choice: A structural equation modeling approach," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 197-213, May.
    14. Whitney K. Newey & Kenneth D. West, 1994. "Automatic Lag Selection in Covariance Matrix Estimation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 61(4), pages 631-653.
    15. Choi, In, 2001. "Unit root tests for panel data," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 249-272, April.
    16. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    17. Matjaž Ärnigoj & DuÅ¡an Mramor, 2009. "Determinants of Capital Structure in Emerging European Economies: Evidence from Slovenian Firms," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 72-89, January.
    18. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    19. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    20. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Ralf Elsas & David Florysiak, 2011. "Heterogeneity in the Speed of Adjustment toward Target Leverage," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 11(2), pages 181-211, June.
    22. Murray Z. Frank & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors Are Reliably Important?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 1-37, March.
    23. Chortareas, Georgios & Kapetanios, George, 2009. "Getting PPP right: Identifying mean-reverting real exchange rates in panels," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 390-404, February.
    24. Rubi Ahmad & Oyebola Fatima Etudaiye-Muhtar, 2017. "Dynamic Model of Optimal Capital Structure: Evidence from Nigerian Listed Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 18(3), pages 590-604, June.
    25. Shyam-Sunder, Lakshmi & C. Myers, Stewart, 1999. "Testing static tradeoff against pecking order models of capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 219-244, February.
    26. Dierker, Martin & Lee, Inmoo & Seo, Sung Won, 2019. "Risk changes and external financing activities: Tests of the dynamic trade-off theory of capital structure," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 178-200.
    27. Hovakimian, Armen & Opler, Tim & Titman, Sheridan, 2001. "The Debt-Equity Choice," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(1), pages 1-24, March.
    28. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Joshua Abor, 2005. "The effect of capital structure on profitability: an empirical analysis of listed firms in Ghana," Journal of Risk Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 6(5), pages 438-445, November.
    30. Eugene F. Fama, 2002. "Testing Trade-Off and Pecking Order Predictions About Dividends and Debt," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(1), pages 1-33, March.
    31. Gallant, A. Ronald, 1981. "On the bias in flexible functional forms and an essentially unbiased form : The fourier flexible form," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 211-245, February.
    32. Flannery, Mark J. & Rangan, Kasturi P., 2006. "Partial adjustment toward target capital structures," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 469-506, March.
    33. Ucar, Nuri & Omay, Tolga, 2009. "Testing for unit root in nonlinear heterogeneous panels," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 104(1), pages 5-8, July.
    34. Shaif Jarallah & Ali Salman Saleh & Ruhul Salim, 2019. "Examining pecking order versus trade‐off theories of capital structure: New evidence from Japanese firms," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(1), pages 204-211, January.
    35. Tanveer Ahsan & Man Wang & Muhammad Azeem Qureshi, 2016. "Mean Reverting Financial Leverage and Firm Life Cycle: Theory versus Evidence (Pakistan)," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 2(1), pages 19-26, May.
    36. Perron, Pierre, 1989. "The Great Crash, the Oil Price Shock, and the Unit Root Hypothesis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(6), pages 1361-1401, November.
    37. 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.
    38. Aydin Ozkan, 2001. "Determinants of Capital Structure and Adjustment to Long Run Target: Evidence From UK Company Panel Data," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1‐2), pages 175-198, January.
    39. Tanveer Ahsan & Wang Man & Muhammad Azeem Qureshi, 2016. "Mean reverting financial leverage: theory and evidence from Pakistan," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(5), pages 379-388, January.
    40. Walter Enders & Junsoo Lee, 2012. "A Unit Root Test Using a Fourier Series to Approximate Smooth Breaks," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(4), pages 574-599, August.
    41. HARRY DeANGELO & RICHARD ROLL, 2015. "How Stable Are Corporate Capital Structures?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(1), pages 373-418, February.
    42. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-275, May.
    43. Aydin Ozkan, 2001. "Determinants of Capital Structure and Adjustment to Long Run Target: Evidence From UK Company Panel Data," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1-2), pages 175-198.
    44. Natalia Nehrebecka & Aneta Dzik-Walczak, 2018. "The dynamic model of partial adjustment of the capital structure: Meta-analysis and a case of Polish enterprises," Zbornik radova Ekonomskog fakulteta u Rijeci/Proceedings of Rijeka Faculty of Economics, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business, vol. 36(1), pages 55-81.
    45. G. S. Maddala & Shaowen Wu, 1999. "A Comparative Study of Unit Root Tests with Panel Data and a New Simple Test," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(S1), pages 631-652, November.
    46. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    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. Bontempi, Maria Elena & Bottazzi, Laura & Golinelli, Roberto, 2020. "A multilevel index of heterogeneous short-term and long-term debt dynamics," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. M. E. Bontempi & L. Bottazzi & R. Golinelli, 2015. "Dynamic corporate capital structure behavior: empirical assessment in the light of heterogeneity and non stationarity," Working Papers wp988, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    3. Dang, Viet Anh & Kim, Minjoo & Shin, Yongcheol, 2014. "Asymmetric adjustment toward optimal capital structure: Evidence from a crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 226-242.
    4. Giorgio Canarella & Stephen M. Miller, 2019. "Determinants of Optimal Capital Structure and Speed of Adjustment: Evidence from the U.S. ICT Sector," Working papers 2019-06, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.
    5. Shoaib Ali & Attiya Yasmin Javid, 2015. "Relationship between Credit Rating, Capital Structure and Earning Management Behaviour: Evidence from Pakistani Listed Firms," PIDE-Working Papers 2015:121, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    6. Morais, Flávio & Serrasqueiro, Zélia & Ramalho, Joaquim J.S., 2022. "Capital structure speed of adjustment heterogeneity across zero leverage and leveraged European firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    7. Tsangyao Chang & Tsung-Pao Wu & Rangan Gupta, 2015. "Are house prices in South Africa really nonstationary? Evidence from SPSM-based panel KSS test with a Fourier function," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(1), pages 32-53, January.
    8. Biswajit Ghose & Kailash Chandra Kabra, 2019. "Capital Structure Dynamics and Financing Imbalance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 5(2), pages 103-124, November.
    9. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    10. Rubi Ahmad & Oyebola Fatima Etudaiye-Muhtar, 2017. "Dynamic Model of Optimal Capital Structure: Evidence from Nigerian Listed Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 18(3), pages 590-604, June.
    11. Liu, Wen-Chi, 2013. "Reexamining the income inequality in China: Evidence from sequential panel selection method," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 37-42.
    12. Chang, Ming-Jen & Su, Che-Yi, 2014. "Hysteresis versus natural rate in Taiwan's unemployment: Evidence from the educational attainment categories," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 293-304.
    13. Temimi, Akram & Zeitun, Rami & Mimouni, Karim, 2016. "How does the tax status of a country impact capital structure? Evidence from the GCC region," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 37, pages 71-89.
    14. Sardo, Filipe & Serrasqueiro, Zélia & Armada, Manuel Rocha, 2022. "The importance of owner loans for rebalancing the capital structure of small knowledge-intensive service firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    15. Yarong Chen & Luca Sensini & Maria Vazquez, 2021. "Determinants of Leverage in Emerging Markets: Empirical Evidence," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(2), pages 40-46.
    16. Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Girma, Sourafel & Shah, M. Eskandar & Williams, Jonathan, 2014. "Dynamic capital structure and political patronage: The case of Malaysia," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 117-128.
    17. Li, Xiao-Lin & Tang, D.P. & Chang, Tsangyao, 2014. "CO2 emissions converge in the 50 U.S. states — Sequential panel selection method," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 320-333.
    18. Samuel Nduati Kariuki & Charles Guandaru Kamau, 2014. "Determinants of Corporate Capital Structure among Private Manufacturing Firms in Kenya: A Survey of Food and Beverage Manufacturing Firms," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 4(3), pages 49-62, July.
    19. Devos, Erik & Rahman, Shofiqur & Tsang, Desmond, 2017. "Debt covenants and the speed of capital structure adjustment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 1-18.
    20. Dang, Viet Anh & Kim, Minjoo & Shin, Yongcheol, 2015. "In search of robust methods for dynamic panel data models in empirical corporate finance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 84-98.

    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:gam:jecomi:v:8:y:2020:i:4:p:76-:d:420835. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.