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Determinants of the Capital Structure of Ghanaian Firms

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Author Info
Joshua Abor
Abstract

This study compares the capital structures of publicly quoted firms, large unquoted firms, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. Using a panel regression model, the paper also examines the determinants of capital structure decisions among the three sample groups. The results show that quoted and large unquoted firms exhibit significantly higher debt ratios than do SMEs. The results did not show significant difference between the capital structures of publicly quoted firms and large unquoted firms. The results reveal that short-term debt constitutes a relatively high proportion of total debt of all the sample groups. The regression results indicate that age of the firm,size of the firm, asset structure, profitability, risk and managerial ownership are important in influencing the capital structure decisions of Ghanaian firms. For the SME sample, it was found that factors such as the gender of the entrepreneur, export status, industry,location of the firm and form of business are also important in explaining the capitalstructure choice. The study provides useful recommendations for policy direction and management of these firms.

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Paper provided by African Economic Research Consortium in its series Research Papers with number RP_176.

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Length: 46 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2008
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Handle: RePEc:aer:rpaper:rp_176

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  1. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. " The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-92, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Bigsten, A. & Collier, P. & Dercon, S. & Fafchamps, M. & Gauthier, B. & Gunning, J.W. & Soderbom, M. & Oduro, A. & Oostendorp, R. & Patillo, C. & Teal, F. & Zeufack, A., 2000. "Credit Constraints in Manufacturing Enterprises in Africa," Working Papers Series 2000-24, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
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  3. Yakov Amihud & Baruch Lev, 1981. "Risk Reduction as a Managerial Motive for Conglomerate Mergers," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 605-617, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. " The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management. [Downloadable!]
  6. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-75, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Graham, John R., 1999. "Do personal taxes affect corporate financing decisions?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 147-185, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Berger, Philip G & Ofek, Eli & Yermack, David L, 1997. " Managerial Entrenchment and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1411-38, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, 1988. "Do Taxes Affect Corporate Financing Decisions?," NBER Working Papers 2632, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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