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Political uncertainty and the choice of debt sources

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  • Ben-Nasr, Hamdi
  • Bouslimi, Lobna
  • Ebrahim, M. Shahid
  • Zhong, Rui

Abstract

This paper studies the effect of political uncertainty on the choice of debt sources. We find a positive relationship between political uncertainty stemming from elections and the proportion of bank loans over total debts, especially when elections are closely contested. Furthermore, this relationship is stronger in opaque firms and more financially constrained firms as well as firms from countries with weaker shareholder rights, labor protection, creditor rights and national governance.

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  • Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Bouslimi, Lobna & Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Zhong, Rui, 2020. "Political uncertainty and the choice of debt sources," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intfin:v:64:y:2020:i:c:s1042443119302379
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2019.101142
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    Cited by:

    1. Ben-Nasr, Hamdi & Boubaker, Sabri & Sassi, Syrine, 2021. "Board reforms and debt choice," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. Jian, Jian-hui & Hu, Dan & Tian, Haiyan & Long, Chengfeng & Yang, Fan, 2023. "Political uncertainty, officials’ characteristics heterogeneity and firm cost stickiness," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 776-791.
    3. Huang, Guan-Ying & Shen, Carl Hsin-han & Wu, Zhen-Xing, 2023. "Firm-level political risk and debt choice," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Almaghrabi, Khadija S., 2021. "Borrowing during periods of policy uncertainty: The role of foreign lenders," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
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    6. Khoo, Joye & Cheung, Adrian (Wai Kong), 2021. "Does geopolitical uncertainty affect corporate financing? Evidence from MIDAS regression," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    7. Gyimah, Daniel & Danso, Albert & Adu-Ameyaw, Emmanuel & Boateng, Agyenim, 2022. "Firm-level political risk and corporate leverage decisions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bank debt; Public debt; National election; Political uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D72 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • 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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