IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ses/arsjes/2005-i-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What are the Determinants of the Capital Structure? Evidence from Switzerland

Author

Listed:
  • Wolfgang Drobetz
  • Roger Fix

Abstract

We test leverage predictions of the trade-off and pecking order models using Swiss data. At an aggregate level, leverage of Swiss firms is comparatively low, but the results depend crucially on the exact definition of leverage. Confirming the pecking order model but contradicting the trade-off model, more profitable firms use less leverage. Firms with more investment opportunities apply less leverage, which supports both the trade-off model and a complex version of the pecking or-der model. Leverage is also closely related to tangibility of assets and the volatility of a firm's earnings. Estimating a dynamic panel model with adjustment costs, we find that Swiss firms tend to maintain target leverage ratios, but the results with respect to the speed of adjustment again depend on the definition of leverage. Our results are robust to several alternative estimation techniques.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolfgang Drobetz & Roger Fix, 2005. "What are the Determinants of the Capital Structure? Evidence from Switzerland," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 141(I), pages 71-113, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ses:arsjes:2005-i-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sjes.ch/papers/2005-I-3.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hellwig, Martin, 1998. "On the economics and politics of corporate finance and corporate control," Papers 98-43, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    2. Stulz, ReneM., 1990. "Managerial discretion and optimal financing policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 3-27, July.
    3. Sanford J. Grossman & Oliver D. Hart, 1982. "Corporate Financial Structure and Managerial Incentives," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Information and Uncertainty, pages 107-140, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Stephen A. Ross, 1977. "The Determination of Financial Structure: The Incentive-Signalling Approach," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(1), pages 23-40, Spring.
    5. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    6. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    7. Titman, Sheridan, 1984. "The effect of capital structure on a firm's liquidation decision," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 137-151, March.
    8. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    9. Parrino, Robert & Weisbach, Michael S., 1999. "Measuring investment distortions arising from stockholder-bondholder conflicts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 3-42, July.
    10. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    11. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1990. "Capital Structure and the Informational Role of Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(2), pages 321-349, June.
    12. Michael J. Barclay & Clifford W. Smith & Ross L. Watts, 1995. "The Determinants Of Corporate Leverage And Dividend Policies," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 7(4), pages 4-19, January.
    13. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Shenoy, Catherine & Koch, Paul D., 1996. "The firm's leverage-cash flow relationship," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 307-331, February.
    15. Shyam-Sunder, Lakshmi & C. Myers, Stewart, 1999. "Testing static tradeoff against pecking order models of capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 219-244, February.
    16. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. 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.
    18. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1995. "What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence from International Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1421-1460, December.
    19. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    20. Ross, Stephen A, 1985. "Debt and Taxes and Uncertainty," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(3), pages 637-657, July.
    21. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1995. "Debt and Seniority: An Analysis of the Role of Hard Claims in Constraining Management," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 567-585, June.
    22. de Miguel, Alberto & Pindado, Julio, 2001. "Determinants of capital structure: new evidence from Spanish panel data," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 77-99, March.
    23. Myers, Stewart C., 1977. "Determinants of corporate borrowing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 147-175, November.
    24. Titman, Sheridan & Wessels, Roberto, 1988. " The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(1), pages 1-19, March.
    25. DeAngelo, Harry & Masulis, Ronald W., 1980. "Optimal capital structure under corporate and personal taxation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 3-29, March.
    26. Warner, Jerold B, 1977. "Bankruptcy Costs: Some Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 337-347, May.
    27. Scott, James H, Jr, 1977. "Bankruptcy, Secured Debt, and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(1), pages 1-19, March.
    28. Louis K. C. Chan & Jason Karceski & Josef Lakonishok, 2003. "The Level and Persistence of Growth Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(2), pages 643-684, April.
    29. Jensen, Gerald R. & Solberg, Donald P. & Zorn, Thomas S., 1992. "Simultaneous Determination of Insider Ownership, Debt, and Dividend Policies," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(2), pages 247-263, June.
    30. Jalilvand, Abolhassan & Harris, Robert S, 1984. "Corporate Behavior in Adjusting to Capital Structure and Dividend Targets: An Econometric Study," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(1), pages 127-145, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lucey, Brian M. & Vigne, Samuel A. & Ballester, Laura & Barbopoulos, Leonidas & Brzeszczynski, Janusz & Carchano, Oscar & Dimic, Nebojsa & Fernandez, Viviana & Gogolin, Fabian & González-Urteaga, Ana , 2018. "Future directions in international financial integration research - A crowdsourced perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 35-49.
    2. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Pensa, Pascal & Wöhle, Claudia B., 2004. "Kapitalstrukturtheorie in Theorie und Praxis: Ergebnisse einer Fragebogenuntersuchung," Working papers 2004/09, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    3. Andrea Seňová & Katarína Čulková & Marcela Taušová & Katarína Teplická, 2023. "Business companies' financing peculiarities in conditions of Slovakia," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 10(4), pages 48-70, June.
    4. Quratulain Zafar & Winai Wongsurawat & David Camino, 2019. "The determinants of leverage decisions: Evidence from Asian emerging markets," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1598836-159, January.
    5. Cristina Aybar-Arias & Alejandro Casino-Martínez & José López-Gracia, 2012. "On the adjustment speed of SMEs to their optimal capital structure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 39(4), pages 977-996, November.
    6. Babl, Christian & Fausel, Andreas & Kuhlman, Leonard & Schiereck, Dirk, 2014. "Werteffekte auf Anleiheemissionen: Eine Note für deutsche Emittenten," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 68(1), pages 8-22.
    7. Wolfgang Drobetz & Matthias Grüninger, 2007. "Corporate cash holdings: Evidence from Switzerland," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 21(3), pages 293-324, September.
    8. Shah, Mumtaz Hussain & Khan, Atta Ullah, 2017. "Factors determining capital structure of Pakistani non-financial firms," MPRA Paper 82015, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Wolfgang Drobetz & Gabrielle Wanzenried, 2006. "What determines the speed of adjustment to the target capital structure?," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(13), pages 941-958.
    10. Dobetz, Wolfgang & Grüninger, Matthias C., 2006. "Corporate cash holdings: Evidence from a different institutional setting," Working papers 2006/06, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    11. Hussein A. Abdou & Andzelika Kuzmic & John Pointon & Roger J. Lister, 2012. "Determinants Of Capital Structure In The Uk Retail Industry: A Comparison Of Multiple Regression And Generalized Regression Neural Network," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(3), pages 151-169, July.
    12. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Pensa, Pascal & Wanzenried, Gabrielle, 2007. "Firm Characteristics, Economic Conditions and Capital Structure Adjustment," Working papers 2007/16, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    13. Charalampos Basdekis & Apostolos Christopoulos & Evgenios Gakias & Ioannis Katsampoxakis, 2023. "The Effect of ECB Unconventional Monetary Policy on Firms’ Performance during the Global Financial Crisis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-20, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2001. "Company Financing, Captial Structure, and Ownership: A Survey, and Implications for Developing Economies," SUERF Studies, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, number 12 edited by Morten Balling, May.
    2. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2005. "Company Financial Structure: A Survey and Implications for Developing Economies," Chapters, in: Christopher J. Green & Colin Kirkpatrick & Victor Murinde (ed.), Finance and Development, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    4. Paulo J. Maçãs Nunes & Zélia M. Serrasqueiro, 2007. "Capital Structure of Portuguese Service Industries: A Panel Data Analysis," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(5), pages 549-562, July.
    5. Antonczyk, Ron Christian & Salzmann, Astrid Juliane, 2014. "Overconfidence and optimism: The effect of national culture on capital structure," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 132-151.
    6. Francisco Sogorb- Mira, 2002. "How Sme Uniqueness Affects Capital Structure: Evidence From A 1994-1998 Spanish Data Panel," Working Papers. Serie EC 2002-18, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    7. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Pensa, Pascal & Wanzenried, Gabrielle, 2007. "Firm Characteristics, Economic Conditions and Capital Structure Adjustment," Working papers 2007/16, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    8. Joliet, Robert & Muller, Aline, 2013. "Capital structure effects of international expansion," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 375-393.
    9. Wolfgang Drobetz & Gabrielle Wanzenried, 2004. "What Determines the Speed of Adjustment to the Target Capital Structure?," Diskussionsschriften dp0415, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    10. Rizov, Marian, 2008. "Corporate capital structure and how soft budget constraints may affect it," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 22(4), pages 648-684.
    11. Chen, Linda H. & Jiang, George J., 2001. "The financing behavior of Dutch firms," Research Report 01E54, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    12. Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Girma, Sourafel & Shah, M. Eskandar & Williams, Jonathan, 2014. "Dynamic capital structure and political patronage: The case of Malaysia," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 117-128.
    13. Francisco Sogorb- Mira & José Lopez- Gracia, 2003. "Pecking Order Versus Trade-Off: An Empirical Approach To The Small And Medium Enterprise Capital Structure," Working Papers. Serie EC 2003-09, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    14. Iván Arribas & Emili Tortosa-Ausina & TingTing Zhu, 2021. "Optimal capital structure, model uncertainty, and European SMEs," Working Papers 2021/11, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    15. Harjeet S. Bhabra & Tong Liu & Dogan Tirtiroglu, 2008. "Capital Structure Choice in a Nascent Market: Evidence from Listed Firms in China," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 37(2), pages 341-364, June.
    16. José López-Gracia & Francisco Sogorb-Mira, 2008. "Testing trade-off and pecking order theories financing SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 117-136, August.
    17. Viet Anh Dang, 2005. "Testing the Trade-off and Pecking Order Theory: Some UK Evidence," Money Macro and Finance (MMF) Research Group Conference 2005 28, Money Macro and Finance Research Group.
    18. Dimitris Margaritis & Maria Psillaki, 2007. "Capital Structure and Firm Efficiency," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(9‐10), pages 1447-1469, November.
    19. Nivorozhkin, Eugene, 2005. "Financing choices of firms in EU accession countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 138-169, June.
    20. Koh, SzeKee & Durand, Robert B. & Watson, Iain, 2011. "Seize the moment: Opportunism in Australian capital markets," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 19(4), pages 374-389, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    optimal capital structure; trade-off theory; pecking order theory; dynamic panel estimation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ses:arsjes:2005-i-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kurt Schmidheiny (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/sgvssea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.