This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Does the Source of Capital Affect Capital Structure?

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Michael Faulkender
Mitchell A. Petersen

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Empirical examinations of capital structure have led some to conclude that firms are under-levered. Implicit in this argument and much of the empirical work on leverage is the assumption that the availability of incremental capital depends solely on the risk of the firm's cash flows and characteristics of the firm. However, the same market frictions that make capital structure relevant suggest that firms may be rationed by lenders, leading some firms to appear to be under-levered relative to unconstrained firms. We examine this theory, arguing that the same characteristics that may be associated with firms being rationed by the debt markets are also associated with financial intermediaries, opposed to bond markets, being the source of a firm's debt capital. We find that firms have significantly different leverage ratios based on whether they have access to public bond markets as measured by the firm having a debt rating. Although firms with a debt rating are fundamentally different, these differences do not explain our findings. Even after controlling for the firm characteristics previously found to determine observed capital structure and the possible endogeneity of having a bond rating, we find that firms which are able to raise debt from public markets have 40 percent more debt.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w9930.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 9930.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length:
Date of creation: Sep 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:9930

Note: CF
Contact details of provider:
Postal: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Phone: 617-868-3900
Email:
Web page: http://www.nber.org
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)
  1. Brandon Julio & Woojin Kim & Michael Weisbach, 2007. "What Determines the Structure of Corporate Debt Issues?," NBER Working Papers 13706, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Annalisa Ferrando & Rozália Pál, 2006. "Financing constraints and firms’ cash policy in the euro area," Working Paper Series 642, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  3. Viral V. Acharya & Heitor Almeida & Murillo Campello, 2005. "Is Cash Negative Debt? A Hedging Perspective on Corporate Financial Policies," NBER Working Papers 11391, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Cole, Rebel, 2008. "What do we know about the capital structure of privately held firms? Evidence from the Surveys of Small Business Finance," MPRA Paper 8086, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. Murillo Campello & John Graham, 2007. "Do Stock Prices Influence Corporate Decisions? Evidence from the Technology Bubble," NBER Working Papers 13640, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Giannetti, Mariassunta & Laeven, Luc, 2007. "Pension Reform, Ownership Structure, and Corporate Governance: Evidence from Sweden," CEPR Discussion Papers 6489, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Paul Gabriel MICLAUS & Radu LUPU & Stefan UNGUREANU, 2008. "The Factors of the Capital Structure in Eastern Europe," Annals of University of Craiova - Economic Sciences Series, University of Craiova, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, vol. 1(36), pages 432-443, May. [Downloadable!]
  8. Armando Gomes & Gordon Phillips, 2005. "Why Do Public Firms Issue Private and Public Securities?," NBER Working Papers 11294, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Hege, Ulrich & Hennessy, Christopher, 2007. "Acquisition Values and Optimal Financial (In)Flexibility," Les Cahiers de Recherche 878, HEC Paris. [Downloadable!]
  10. Almeida, Heitor & Campello, Murillo & Weisbach, Michael S., 2008. "Corporate Financial and Investment Policies When Future Financing Is Not Frictionless," Working Paper Series 2008-16, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Bartholdy, Jan & Mateus, Cesário, 2006. "Debt and Taxes: Evidence from bank-financed unlisted firms," Finance Research Group Working Papers F-2006-02, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Business Studies. [Downloadable!]
  12. Lieven Baert & Rudi Vander Vennet, 2008. "Bank Market Structure and Firm Capital Structure," Working Paper / FINESS 2.1, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  13. Maudos, Joaquin & Pérez, Francisco & Quesada, Javier, 2005. "Do banks discriminate sectoral real investment?," MPRA Paper 15868, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2005. [Downloadable!]
  14. Rozália Pál & Roman Kozhan, 2006. "Firms' investment under financing constraints. An euro area investigation," IEHAS Discussion Papers 0606, Institute of Economics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, revised 21 Jul 2006. [Downloadable!]
  15. Tara Rice & Philip E. Strahan, 2008. "Does credit supply affect small-firm finance?," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2008-54, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
  16. Christina E. Bannier & Christian Hirsch, 2008. "The Economics of Rating Watchlists: Evidence from Rating Changes," Working Paper Series: Finance and Accounting 184, Department of Finance, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. [Downloadable!]
  17. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2005. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," NBER Working Papers 11280, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Michael Faulkender & Mitchell Petersen, 2009. "Investment and Capital Constraints: Repatriations Under the American Jobs Creation Act," NBER Working Papers 15248, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Allayannis, George & Brown, Gregory W. & Klapper, Leora F., 2005. "Legal effectiveness and external capital : the role of foreign debt," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3530, The World Bank. [Downloadable!]
  20. Iris Claus & Veronica Jacobsen & Brock Jera, 2004. "Financial Systems and Economic Growth: An Evaluation Framework for Policy," Treasury Working Paper Series 04/17, New Zealand Treasury. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? IDEAS was sponsored from 1997 to 2002 by the Université du Québec à Montréal.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-25.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.