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Agency Costs, Balance Sheets and the Business Cycle

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Author Info
Philip Lowe (Reserve Bank of Australia)
Thomas Rohling (Reserve Bank of Australia)
Abstract

The 1980s witnessed large increases in corporate debt and sustained asset price inflation. More recently, asset prices, particularly commercial property prices, have fallen significantly. The effect of these changes on balance sheets, and their implications for the business cycle, have generated considerable interest among academics and policy makers. In this paper, we review recent theoretical models that link the evolution of the business cycle to changes in firm equity. This link arises out of the asymmetry of information between borrowers and lenders and between managers and owners. These asymmetries lead to distortions in decision making which affect both the supply of and demand for credit, and ultimately investment and output. Deteriorations in the net worth of corporations and financial institutions are likely to lead to a reduction in both credit demand and supply and to an amplification of the business cycle. We develop a simple model in which the information problems between risk-averse management and the firm's owners lead to investment decisions that depend upon the financial condition of the firm. We also review the Australian evidence of the importance of balance sheet strength on the availability of finance. Empirical results suggest that asset price inflation or increases in corporate equity, even after controlling for general business conditions, lead to finance becoming easier to obtain. This suggests that a collapse of asset prices, or an aggregate demand shock that reduces firms' equity, will result in decreased supply of external finance.

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Paper provided by Reserve Bank of Australia in its series RBA Research Discussion Papers with number rdp9311.

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Date of creation: Nov 1993
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Handle: RePEc:rba:rbardp:rdp9311

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References listed on IDEAS
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. Mark Gertler & R. Glenn Hubbard & Anil K. Kashyap, 1990. "Interest rate spreads, credit constraints and investment fluctuations: an empirical investigation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 137, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    Other versions:
  2. Karen Mills & Steve Morling & Warren Tease, 1993. "Balance Sheet Restructuring and Investment," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9308, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  3. Mark J. Warshawsky, 1991. "Is There a Corporate Debt Crisis? Another Look," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Markets and Financial Crises, pages 207-230 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  4. Philip Lowe & Thomas Rohling, 1992. "Loan Rate Stickiness: Theory and Evidence," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9206, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  5. Stephen Grenville, 1990. "The Operation of Monetary Policy," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 23(2), pages 6-16. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Robert Townsend, 1979. "Optimal contracts and competitive markets with costly state verification," Staff Report 45, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Whited, Toni M., 1991. "Investment and financial asset accumulation," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 1(4), pages 307-334, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Marianne Gizycki & Mark Levonian, 1993. "A Decade of Australian Banking Risk: Evidence from Share Prices," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9302, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  10. Toni M. Whited, 1990. "Debt, liquidity constraints, and corporate investment: evidence from panel data," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 114, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
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  12. Williamson, Stephen D, 1987. "Costly Monitoring, Loan Contracts, and Equilibrium Credit Rationing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 102(1), pages 135-45, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Adrian Blundell-Wignall & Marianne Gizycki, 1992. "Credit Supply and Demand and the Australian Economy," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9208, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  14. Gale, Douglas & Hellwig, Martin, 1985. "Incentive-Compatible Debt Contracts: The One-Period Problem," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 52(4), pages 647-63, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Diamond, Douglas W, 1984. "Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 51(3), pages 393-414, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Kashyap, Anil K & Stein, Jeremy C & Wilcox, David W, 1993. "Monetary Policy and Credit Conditions: Evidence from the Composition of External Finance," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(1), pages 78-98, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Greenwald, Bruce & Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1984. "Informational Imperfections in the Capital Market and Macroeconomic Fluctuations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(2), pages 194-99, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Diamond, Douglas W & Dybvig, Philip H, 1983. "Bank Runs, Deposit Insurance, and Liquidity," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(3), pages 401-19, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  19. Whited, Toni M, 1992. " Debt, Liquidity Constraints, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1425-60, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Calomiris, Charles W & Hubbard, R Glenn, 1990. "Firm Heterogeneity, Internal Finance, and 'Credit Rationing.'," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 100(399), pages 90-104, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. 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)
  22. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Bruce C. Greenwald & Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1993. "Financial Market Imperfections and Business Cycles," NBER Working Papers 2494, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  24. Jensen, Michael C, 1988. "Takeovers: Their Causes and Consequences," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 21-48, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Ben S. Bernanke & Cara S. Lown, 1991. "The Credit Crunch," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 22(1991-2), pages 205-248. [Downloadable!]
  26. Stephen D. Oliner & Glenn D. Rudebusch, 1989. "Internal finance and investment: testing the role of asymmetric information and agency costs," Working Paper Series / Economic Activity Section 101, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
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  28. Jensen, Michael C & Murphy, Kevin J, 1990. "Performance Pay and Top-Management Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(2), pages 225-64, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  29. Gertler, Mark, 1992. "Financial Capacity and Output Fluctuations in an Economy with Multi-period Financial Relationships," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 59(3), pages 455-72, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  30. Gertler, M.L. & Hubbard, R.G., 1988. "Financial Factors In Business Fluctuations," Papers fb-_88-37, Columbia - Graduate School of Business.
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  31. Colin Mayer, 1990. "Financial Systems, Corporate Finance, and Economic Development," NBER Chapters, in: Asymmetric Information, Corporate Finance, and Investment, pages 307-332 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
Full references

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. Marianne Gizycki, 2001. "The Effect of Macroeconomic Conditions on Banks’ Risk and Profitability," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2001-06, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  2. Fabio ALESSANDRINI, 2003. "Introducing Capital Structure in a Production Economy: Implications for Investment, Debt and Dividends," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'Econométrie et d'Economie politique (DEEP) 03.03, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, DEEP. [Downloadable!]
  3. Malcolm Edey & John Romalis, 1996. "Issues in Modelling Monetary Policy," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9604, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  4. Geoffrey Shuetrim & Philip Lowe & Steve Morling, 1993. "The Determinants of Corporate Leverage: A Panel Data Analysis," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9313, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  5. Christopher Kent & Philip Lowe, 1997. "Asset-price Bubbles and Monetary Policy," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9709, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  6. Karen Mills & Steven Morling & Warren Tease, 1994. "The Influence of Financial Factors on Corporate Investment," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9402, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
  7. J T Kneeshaw, 1995. "A survey of non-financial sector balance sheets in industialised countries: implications for the monetary policy transmission mechanism," BIS Working Papers 25, Bank for International Settlements. [Downloadable!]
  8. Agustinus Prasetyantoko, 2006. "Debt Composition and Balance Sheet Effect of Currency Crisis in Indonesia," Post-Print halshs-00134223_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  9. Nicolas de Roos & Bill Russell, 1996. "Towards an Understanding of Australia's Co-movement with Foreign Business Cycles," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9607, Reserve Bank of Australia. [Downloadable!]
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