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Optimal Debt Maturity and Firm Investment

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  • Joachim Jungherr
  • Immo Schott

Abstract

This paper introduces a maturity choice to the standard model of firm financing and investment. Long-term debt renders the optimal firm policy time-inconsistent. Lack of commitment gives rise to debt dilution. This problem becomes more severe during downturns. We show that cyclical debt dilution generates the observed counter-cyclical behavior of default, bond spreads, leverage, and debt maturity. It also generates the pro-cyclical term structure of corporate bond spreads. Debt dilution renders the equilibrium outcome constrained-inefficient: credit spreads are too high and investment is too low. In two policy experiments we find the following: (1) an outright ban of long-term debt improves welfare in our model economy, and (2.) debt dilution accounts for 84% of the credit spread and 25% of the welfare gap with respect to the first best allocation.

Suggested Citation

  • Joachim Jungherr & Immo Schott, 2016. "Optimal Debt Maturity and Firm Investment," Working Papers 943, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:943
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Ajello & Ander Pérez-Orive & Bálint Szőke, 2023. "Sticky Leverage: Comment," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2023-051, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    2. Deng, Minjie & Fang, Min, 2022. "Debt maturity heterogeneity and investment responses to monetary policy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    3. Joachim Jungherr & Immo Schott, 2022. "Slow Debt, Deep Recessions," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 224-259, January.
    4. Andrea Gamba & Alessio Saretto, 2023. "Debt Maturity and Commitment on Firm Policies," Working Papers 2303, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    firm financing; investment; debt maturity; credit spreads; debt dilution;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • E44 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Financial Markets and the Macroeconomy
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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