IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/apeclt/v17y2010i10p983-990.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The empirical determinants of target capital structure and adjustment to long-run target: evidence from Canadian firms

Author

Listed:
  • Pravish Kumar Nunkoo
  • Agyenim Boateng

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to provide more insight into the empirical determinants of target capital structure of Canadian firms. Panel data covering the period 1996 to 2004 was analysed using a much stronger estimation technique, that is, a dynamic regression model. The results show that profitability and tangibility have a positive and significant impact on the firm leverage, whereas growth opportunities and size have a negative influence on the leverage of Canadian firms. The study also suggests that firms have long-term target leverage ratios, but the speed of adjustment to the target leverage ratios is relatively slow in the context of Canadian firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Pravish Kumar Nunkoo & Agyenim Boateng, 2010. "The empirical determinants of target capital structure and adjustment to long-run target: evidence from Canadian firms," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(10), pages 983-990.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apeclt:v:17:y:2010:i:10:p:983-990
    DOI: 10.1080/17446540802599671
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&doi=10.1080/17446540802599671&magic=repec&7C&7C8674ECAB8BB840C6AD35DC6213A474B5
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/17446540802599671?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Watts, Ross L., 1992. "The investment opportunity set and corporate financing, dividend, and compensation policies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 263-292, December.
    2. Bradley, Michael & Jarrell, Gregg A & Kim, E Han, 1984. "On the Existence of an Optimal Capital Structure: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 857-878, July.
    3. M. Ameziane Lasfer, 1995. "Agency costs, taxes and debt: The UK evidence," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 1(3), pages 265-285, November.
    4. Lang, Larry & Ofek, Eli & Stulz, Rene M., 1996. "Leverage, investment, and firm growth," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 3-29, January.
    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. Toy, Norman & Stonehill, Arthur & Remmers, Lee & Wright, Richard & Beekhuisen, Theo, 1974. "A Comparative International Study of Growth, Profitability, and Risk as Determinants of Corporate Debt Ratios in the Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(5), pages 875-886, November.
    7. Friend, Irwin & Lang, Larry H P, 1988. " An Empirical Test of the Impact of Managerial Self-interest on Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(2), pages 271-281, June.
    8. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    9. Laurence Booth & Varouj Aivazian & Asli Demirguc‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2001. "Capital Structures in Developing Countries," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 87-130, February.
    10. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    11. Wedig, Gerard, et al, 1988. " Capital Structure, Ownership, and Capital Payment Policy: The Case of Hospitals," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(1), pages 21-40, March.
    12. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    13. Gupta, Manak C, 1969. "The Effect of Size, Growth, and Industry on the Financial Structure of Manufacturing Companies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 24(3), pages 517-529, June.
    14. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Mehran, Hamid, 1992. "Executive Incentive Plans, Corporate Control, and Capital Structure," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 27(4), pages 539-560, December.
    16. Himmelberg, Charles P. & Hubbard, R. Glenn & Palia, Darius, 1999. "Understanding the determinants of managerial ownership and the link between ownership and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 353-384, September.
    17. Hansen, Lars Peter & Singleton, Kenneth J, 1982. "Generalized Instrumental Variables Estimation of Nonlinear Rational Expectations Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(5), pages 1269-1286, September.
    18. MacKie-Mason, Jeffrey K, 1990. "Do Taxes Affect Corporate Financing Decisions?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(5), pages 1471-1493, December.
    19. 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.
    20. Bruno, Albert V. & Tyebjee, Tyzoon T., 1985. "The entrepreneur's search for capital," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 61-74.
    21. Teresa A. John, 1993. "Accounting Measures of Corporate Liquidity, Leverage, and Costs of Financial Distress," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 22(3), Fall.
    22. Berger, Philip G & Ofek, Eli & Yermack, David L, 1997. "Managerial Entrenchment and Capital Structure Decisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1411-1438, September.
    23. 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.
    24. Saumitra Bhaduri, 2002. "Determinants of capital structure choice: a study of the Indian corporate sector," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(9), pages 655-665.
    25. Ferri, Michael G & Jones, Wesley H, 1979. "Determinants of Financial Structure: A New Methodological Approach," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 34(3), pages 631-644, June.
    26. 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.
    27. Kale, Jayant R & Noe, Thomas H & Ramirez, Gabriel G, 1991. "The Effect of Business Risk on Corporate Capital Structure: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(5), pages 1693-1715, December.
    28. Taub, Allan J, 1975. "Determinants of the Firm's Capital Structure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 57(4), pages 410-416, November.
    29. Dianne M. Roden & Wilbur G. Lewellen, 1995. "Corporate Capital Structure Decisions: Evidence from Leveraged Buyouts," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 24(2), Summer.
    30. Titman, Sheridan & Wessels, Roberto, 1988. " The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 43(1), pages 1-19, March.
    31. Whited, Toni M, 1992. "Debt, Liquidity Constraints, and Corporate Investment: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1425-1460, September.
    32. 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.
    33. Fischer, Edwin O & Heinkel, Robert & Zechner, Josef, 1989. " Dynamic Capital Structure Choice: Theory and Tests," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 44(1), pages 19-40, March.
    34. Andy C W Chui & Alison E Lloyd & Chuck C Y Kwok, 2002. "The Determination of Capital Structure: Is National Culture a Missing Piece to the Puzzle?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 33(1), pages 99-127, 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. B. Matemilola & A. Bany-Ariffin & W. Azman-Saini, 2012. "Financial Leverage and Shareholder’s Required Returns: Evidence from South Africa Corporate Sector," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 18(3), pages 601-612, March.
    2. Bolaji Tunde Matemilola & Rubi Ahmad, 2015. "Debt financing and importance of fixed assets and goodwill assets as collateral: dynamic panel evidence," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 407-421, April.
    3. Nicoleta Bărbuță-Mișu & Mara Madaleno & Vasile Ilie, 2019. "Analysis of Risk Factors Affecting Firms’ Financial Performance—Support for Managerial Decision-Making," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Marcelo Rabelo Henrique & Sandro Braz Silva & Ant?nio Saporito & S¨¦rgio Roberto da Silva, 2020. "Determinants of the Capital Structure of Companies Listed on the Stock Exchanges of Argentina, Brazil and Chile: An Empirical Analysis of the Period from 2007 to 2016," International Journal of Economics and Finance, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, June.
    5. Sohrabi, Narges & Movaghari, Hadi, 2020. "Reliable factors of Capital structure: Stability selection approach," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 296-310.
    6. Maria Elena Bontempi & Laura Bottazzi & Roberto Golinelli, 2015. "ynamic corporate capital structure behavior:empirical assessment in the light of heterogeneity and non stationarity," Working Papers 537, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    7. Julia KORALUN-BEREŹNICKA & Dorota CIOŁEK, 2018. "Industry and Size Effect in Profitability-Capital Structure Relation: Empirical Evidence from Poland," Journal for Economic Forecasting, Institute for Economic Forecasting, vol. 0(1), pages 93-107, December.
    8. Ibrahim Yousef & Hanada Almoumani & Ihssan Samara, 2020. "The Impact of Internationalization of the Boardroom on Capital Structure," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Bontempi, Maria Elena & Bottazzi, Laura & Golinelli, Roberto, 2020. "A multilevel index of heterogeneous short-term and long-term debt dynamics," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Jędrzejczak-Gas Janina, 2017. "Determinants of the capital structure of TSL sector enterprises," Management, Sciendo, vol. 22(1), pages 122-139, September.
    11. Hoang Huy Nguyen & Chi Minh Ho & Duc Hong Vo, 2019. "An Empirical Test of Capital Structure Theories for the Vietnamese Listed Firms," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-11, September.
    12. Chen Hsun Lee & Yung-Hsiang Ying & Koyin Chang, 2016. "Dynamic Financial Decisions with Varying Degrees of Information Asymmetry and Profitability," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(01), pages 1-9, March.
    13. Matemilola, B.T. & Bany-Ariffin, A.N. & Azman-Saini, W.N.W. & Nassir, Annuar Md, 2018. "Does top managers’ experience affect firms’ capital structure?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 488-498.

    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. Evaldo Guimarães Barbosa & Cristiana De Castro Moraes, 2003. "Determinants Of The Firm’S Capital Structure - The Case Of The Very Small Enterprises," Finance 0302001, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 06 Oct 2003.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Joliet, Robert & Muller, Aline, 2013. "Capital structure effects of international expansion," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 375-393.
    5. Rana El Bahsh & Ali Alattar & Aziz N. Yusuf, 2018. "Firm, Industry and Country Level Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Jordan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(2), pages 175-190.
    6. 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.
    7. Fattouh, Bassam & Scaramozzino, Pasquale & Harris, Laurence, 2005. "Capital structure in South Korea: a quantile regression approach," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(1), pages 231-250, February.
    8. Isil Erol & Dogan Tirtiroglu, 2011. "Concentrated Ownership, No Dividend Payout Requirement and Capital Structure of REITs: Evidence from Turkey," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 174-204, July.
    9. Chaido Dritsak, 2015. "Box Jenkins Modeling of Greek Stock Prices Data," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(3), pages 740-747.
    10. 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.
    11. Songul KAKILLI ACARAVCI, 2015. "The Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from the Turkish Manufacturing Sector," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 5(1), pages 158-171.
    12. Voutsinas, Konstantinos & Werner, Richard A., 2011. "Credit supply and corporate capital structure: Evidence from Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 20(5), pages 320-334.
    13. Mário Santos & António Moreira & Elisabete Vieira, 2014. "Ownership concentration, contestability, family firms, and capital structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1063-1107, November.
    14. Ahmed, Huson Joher Ali & Azad, A.S.M. Sohel & Poon, Wai Ching & Safiullah, Md, 2023. "Is there a CSI-leverage nexus?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2017. "Determinants of capital structure in emerging markets: Evidence from Vietnam," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 105-113.
    16. Todd Mitton, 2008. "Why Have Debt Ratios Increased for Firms in Emerging Markets?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 14(1), pages 127-151, January.
    17. Omer Bagais & Khaled Aljaaidi & Abdulaziz Alothman, 2021. "An Empirical Investigation of the Associations of Short and Long Debt Policies with Economic Values of Energy Sector," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 249-254.
    18. M. Ameziane Lasfer, 1995. "Agency costs, taxes and debt: The UK evidence," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 1(3), pages 265-285, November.
    19. Shoaib Khan & Usman Bashir & Hend Abdulhadi Saleh Attuwaijri & Usman Khalid, 2023. "The Capital Structure Decisions of Banks: An Evidence From MENA Region," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    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:taf:apeclt:v:17:y:2010:i:10:p:983-990. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RAEL20 .

    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.