IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/ijfiec/v26y2021i4p6471-6487.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The determinants of capital structure: Evidence from SAARC countries

Author

Listed:
  • Aamer Shahzad
  • Muhammad Azeem
  • Mian Sajid Nazir
  • Xuan Vinh Vo
  • Nguyen T. M. Linh

Abstract

Capital structure is considered one of the most debatable and controversial subjects in corporate finance. However, little is known about capital structure determinants of firms in the South Asian region. This study attempts to address the gap by not only investigate the impact of firm and country‐specific factors on firms' capital structure across the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region but also offer a cross‐country comparison. Results reveal significant relationships between tangibility, profitability, liquidity, firm size, stock market development, economic growth and firm leverage, suggesting that firms in the region are more likely to make their capital structure decisions following pecking order theory. We also find significant differences across countries and debt maturities.

Suggested Citation

  • Aamer Shahzad & Muhammad Azeem & Mian Sajid Nazir & Xuan Vinh Vo & Nguyen T. M. Linh, 2021. "The determinants of capital structure: Evidence from SAARC countries," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 6471-6487, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:ijfiec:v:26:y:2021:i:4:p:6471-6487
    DOI: 10.1002/ijfe.2132
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.2132
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/ijfe.2132?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Judith Jordan & Julian Lowe & Peter Taylor, 1998. "Strategy and Financial Policy in UK Small Firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1‐2), pages 1-27, January.
    3. 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.
    4. Ayberk Nuri Berkman & Omer Iskenderoglu & Erdinc Karadeniz & Nazif Ayyildiz, 2016. "Determinants of Capital Structure: The Evidence from European Energy Companies," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 7(6), pages 96-106, November.
    5. Guanqun Tong & Christopher Green, 2005. "Pecking order or trade-off hypothesis? Evidence on the capital structure of Chinese companies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(19), pages 2179-2189.
    6. Huang, Guihai & Song, Frank M., 2006. "The determinants of capital structure: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 14-36.
    7. Patrik Bauer, 2004. "Determinants of Capital Structure: Empirical Evidence from the Czech Republic," Czech Journal of Economics and Finance (Finance a uver), Charles University Prague, Faculty of Social Sciences, vol. 54(1-2), pages 2-21, January.
    8. Joshua Abor & Nicholas Biekpe, 2009. "How do we explain the capital structure of SMEs in sub‐Saharan Africa?," Journal of Economic Studies, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 36(1), pages 83-97, January.
    9. Murray Z. Frank & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors Are Reliably Important?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 1-37, March.
    10. Kayo, Eduardo K. & Kimura, Herbert, 2011. "Hierarchical determinants of capital structure," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 358-371, February.
    11. Graham C. Hall & Patrick J. Hutchinson & Nicos Michaelas, 2004. "Determinants of the Capital Structures of European SMEs," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5‐6), pages 711-728, June.
    12. Eugene F. Fama, 2002. "Testing Trade-Off and Pecking Order Predictions About Dividends and Debt," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(1), pages 1-33, March.
    13. Lucas, Deborah J & McDonald, Robert L, 1990. "Equity Issues and Stock Price Dynamics," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1019-1043, September.
    14. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    15. Deesomsak, Rataporn & Paudyal, Krishna & Pescetto, Gioia, 2004. "The determinants of capital structure: evidence from the Asia Pacific region," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(4-5), pages 387-405.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. repec:kap:iaecre:v:13:y:2007:i:4:p:495-514 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Marc Deloof & Wouter Van Overfelt, 2008. "Were Modern Capital Structure Theories Valid in Belgium Before World War I?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3-4), pages 491-515.
    20. Xu, Jin, 2012. "Profitability and capital structure: Evidence from import penetration," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(2), pages 427-446.
    21. Mark Fagan & Shenghua Zhao, 2009. "SME financing in China: the current situation, problems and possible solutions," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 8(2), pages 171-185.
    22. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    23. 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.
    24. de Jong, Abe & Kabir, Rezaul & Nguyen, Thuy Thu, 2008. "Capital structure around the world: The roles of firm- and country-specific determinants," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1954-1969, September.
    25. Šarlija Nataša & Harc Martina, 2012. "The impact of liquidity on the capital structure: a case study of Croatian firms," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 3(1), pages 30-36, 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. Frank, Murray Z. & Goyal, Vidhan K., 2004. "The effect of market conditions on capital structure adjustment," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 47-55, March.
    28. Leary, Mark T. & Roberts, Michael R., 2010. "The pecking order, debt capacity, and information asymmetry," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(3), pages 332-355, March.
    29. Aydin Ozkan, 2001. "Determinants of Capital Structure and Adjustment to Long Run Target: Evidence From UK Company Panel Data," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1‐2), pages 175-198, January.
    30. Franck Bancel & Usha R. Mittoo, 2004. "Cross-Country Determinants of Capital Structure Choice: A Survey of European Firms," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(4), Winter.
    31. Antoniou, Antonios & Guney, Yilmaz & Paudyal, Krishna, 2008. "The Determinants of Capital Structure: Capital Market-Oriented versus Bank-Oriented Institutions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 59-92, March.
    32. Md. Faruk Hossain & Md. Ayub Ali, 2012. "Impact of Firm Specific Factors on Capital Structure Decision: An Empirical Study of Bangladeshi Companies," International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM), Computer Science Journals (CSC Journals), vol. 3(4), pages 163-182, August.
    33. 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.
    34. Michaelas, Nicos & Chittenden, Francis & Poutziouris, Panikkos, 1999. "Financial Policy and Capital Structure Choice in U.K. SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Company Panel Data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 113-130, March.
    35. Fan, Joseph P. H. & Titman, Sheridan & Twite, Garry, 2012. "An International Comparison of Capital Structure and Debt Maturity Choices," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(1), pages 23-56, February.
    36. Romano, Claudio A. & Tanewski, George A. & Smyrnios, Kosmas X., 2001. "Capital structure decision making: A model for family business," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 285-310, May.
    37. John R. Graham & Mark T. Leary, 2011. "A Review of Empirical Capital Structure Research and Directions for the Future," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 3(1), pages 309-345, December.
    38. Graham C. Hall & Patrick J. Hutchinson & Nicos Michaelas, 2004. "Determinants of the Capital Structures of European SMEs," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5-6), pages 711-728.
    39. Chen, Jean J., 2004. "Determinants of capital structure of Chinese-listed companies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 57(12), pages 1341-1351, December.
    40. Gavin Cassar & Scott Holmes, 2003. "Capital structure and financing of SMEs: Australian evidence," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 43(2), pages 123-147, July.
    41. Zélia Maria Silva Serrasqueiro & Márcia Cristina Rêgo Rogão, 2009. "Capital structure of listed Portuguese companies," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(1), pages 54-75, February.
    42. Demirguc-Kunt, Ash & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 1996. "Stock Market Development and Financing Choices of Firms," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 10(2), pages 341-369, May.
    43. Kinga Mazur, 2007. "The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice: Evidence from Polish Companies," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 13(4), pages 495-514, November.
    44. repec:bla:jfinan:v:43:y:1988:i:1:p:1-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    45. 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.
    46. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 1999. "Institutions, financial markets, and firm debt maturity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 295-336, December.
    47. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2002. "Market Timing and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    48. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    49. Mateev, Miroslav & Poutziouris, Panikkos & Ivanov, Konstantin, 2013. "On the determinants of SME capital structure in Central and Eastern Europe: A dynamic panel analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 28-51.
    50. Marsh, Paul, 1982. "The Choice between Equity and Debt: An Empirical Study," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 121-144, March.
    51. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    52. Aydin Ozkan, 2001. "Determinants of Capital Structure and Adjustment to Long Run Target: Evidence From UK Company Panel Data," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(1-2), pages 175-198.
    53. repec:bla:acctfi:v::y:2003:i:2:p:123-147 is not listed on IDEAS
    54. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    55. Marc Deloof & Wouter Van Overfelt, 2008. "Were Modern Capital Structure Theories Valid in Belgium Before World War I?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(3‐4), pages 491-515, April.
    56. Korajczyk, Robert A. & Levy, Amnon, 2003. "Capital structure choice: macroeconomic conditions and financial constraints," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 75-109, April.
    57. Agha Jahanzeb & Norkhairul Hafiz Bajuri & Aisha Ghori & David McMillan, 2015. "Market power versus capital structure determinants: Do they impact leverage?," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1017948-101, December.
    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. Jaroslav Mazanec, 2023. "Capital Structure Theory in the Transport Sector: Evidence from Visegrad Group," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-17, March.

    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. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    2. 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.
    3. Belkhir, Mohamed & Maghyereh, Aktham & Awartani, Basel, 2016. "Institutions and corporate capital structure in the MENA region," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 99-129.
    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. Temimi, Akram & Zeitun, Rami & Mimouni, Karim, 2016. "How does the tax status of a country impact capital structure? Evidence from the GCC region," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 37, pages 71-89.
    6. Alessandra Amendola & Marinella Boccia & Gianluca Mele & Luca Sensini, 2020. "Tax Policy and Firms' Financial Choices: Empirical Evidence from the Dominican Republic," MIC 2020: The 20th Management International Conference,, University of Primorska Press.
    7. James Agyei & Shaorong Sun & Eugene Abrokwah, 2020. "Trade-Off Theory Versus Pecking Order Theory: Ghanaian Evidence," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(3), pages 21582440209, July.
    8. Li, Larry & Islam, Silvia Z., 2019. "Firm and industry specific determinants of capital structure: Evidence from the Australian market," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 425-437.
    9. 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.
    10. Yildirim, Ramazan & Masih, Mansur & Bacha, Obiyathulla Ismath, 2018. "Determinants of capital structure: evidence from Shari'ah compliant and non-compliant firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 198-219.
    11. Yarong Chen & Luca Sensini & Maria Vazquez, 2021. "Determinants of Leverage in Emerging Markets: Empirical Evidence," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(2), pages 40-46.
    12. Raja Zekri Ben Hamouda & Nessrine Hamzaoui & Faouzi Jilani, 2023. "Capital Structure Determinants: New Evidence from the MENA Region Countries," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(1), pages 144-163, January.
    13. Aleksandra Stoiljković & Slavica Tomić & Bojan Leković & Milenko Matić, 2022. "Determinants of Capital Structure: Empirical Evidence of Manufacturing Companies in the Republic of Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    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. Firano, Zakaria & Filali adib, Fatine, 2022. "Optimal Capital structure and financial stability," MPRA Paper 115790, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2022.
    16. Antonio D’Amato, 2020. "Capital structure, debt maturity, and financial crisis: empirical evidence from SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 919-941, December.
    17. Imran Yousaf & Arshad Hassan, 2016. "Effect of Family Control on Corporate Financing Decisions: A Case of Pakistan," PIDE-Working Papers 2016:138, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.
    18. María Palacín-Sánchez & Luis Ramírez-Herrera & Filippo di Pietro, 2013. "Capital structure of SMEs in Spanish regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 503-519, August.
    19. Berk YILDIZ, 2024. "Validity of Capital Structure Theories in the Shipping Industry: An Application on U.S. Equity Markets," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 32(60).
    20. Mohamed, Hisham Hanifa & Masih, Mansur & Bacha, Obiyathulla I., 2015. "Why do issuers issue Sukuk or conventional bond? Evidence from Malaysian listed firms using partial adjustment models," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 233-252.

    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:wly:ijfiec:v:26:y:2021:i:4:p:6471-6487. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/1076-9307/ .

    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.