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Do small businesses adjust their capital structure? Evidence from the global financial crisis in Japan

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  • Daisuke Tsuruta

Abstract

We investigate the extent to which small businesses adjust their capital structures to target levels when their leverage increases substantially during a financial crisis. We examine Japan's Emergency Credit Guarantee (ECG) program during the 2008 global financial crisis. The increased leverage from the use of the ECG program during the crisis increased the probability of default. Additionally, small businesses adjusted their leverage ratios to the target range before the crisis. However, such adjustments were weak during and after the crisis, particularly for target firms in the ECG program.

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  • Daisuke Tsuruta, 2023. "Do small businesses adjust their capital structure? Evidence from the global financial crisis in Japan," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(S1), pages 843-871, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:63:y:2023:i:s1:p:843-871
    DOI: 10.1111/acfi.13078
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    Cited by:

    1. TSURUTA Daisuke, 2023. "Credit Allocation and Public Credit Guarantee Schemes for Small Businesses: Evidence from Japan," Discussion papers 23083, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).

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