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Contract Enforcement and Young Firm Capital Structure: A Global Perspective

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  • Gonzalo Basante Pereira
  • Ina Simonovska

Abstract

We develop a framework to measure the severity of financial constraints for young firms across countries. Using ORBIS balance-sheet data for 23 economies, we show that short-term leverage rises while long-term leverage falls early in firms' life cycles, with this pattern persisting longer where contract enforcement is weaker. We build a model of optimal financing under limited enforcement with endogenous debt maturity and blueprint capacity that matches these patterns and enables structural measurement of financial constraints. The framework decomposes the funding gap into within-firm borrowing constraints that ease with repayment history and a scale distortion identifiable through cross-country comparisons.

Suggested Citation

  • Gonzalo Basante Pereira & Ina Simonovska, 2026. "Contract Enforcement and Young Firm Capital Structure: A Global Perspective," CESifo Working Paper Series 12596, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12596
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gian Luca Clementi & Hugo A. Hopenhayn, 2006. "A Theory of Financing Constraints and Firm Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 229-265.
    2. Martin Brown & Steven Ongena & Alexander Popov & Pinar Yeşin, 2011. "Who needs credit and who gets credit in Eastern Europe? [Interaction terms in logit and probit models]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(65), pages 93-130.
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • F34 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - International Lending and Debt Problems
    • F36 - International Economics - - International Finance - - - Financial Aspects of Economic Integration
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity

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