IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wil/wileco/2016-12.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Capital Structure and Corporate Performance in Late Imperial Russia

Author

Abstract

We investigate the financing of corporations in industrialization's early stages. A new balance sheet database featuring all Imperial Russian corporations in 1914 suggests that Russian corporations exhibited considerable financial flexibility. We emphasize financing differences between two types of Russian corporations: share partnerships and A-corporations. Share partnerships issued greater dividends as a proportion of share capital or profits, were less likely to issue bonds, and had larger accounts payable. Financial strategies varied with age, size, and sector in a manner consistent with modern corporate finance theories. This optimistic assessment suggests that absence of low-cost incorporation impeded Russian industrial and economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Amanda Gregg & Steven Nafziger, 2016. "Capital Structure and Corporate Performance in Late Imperial Russia," Department of Economics Working Papers 2016-12, Department of Economics, Williams College.
    • Handle: RePEc:wil:wileco:2016-12
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://web.williams.edu/Economics/wp/GreggNafzigerCapitalStructureCorporatePerformance.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guinnane, Timothy & Harris, Ron & Lamoreaux, Naomi R. & Rosenthal, Jean-Laurent, 2007. "Putting the Corporation in its Place," Enterprise & Society, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 687-729, September.
    2. Amanda G. Gregg, 2020. "Factory Productivity and the Concession System of Incorporation in Late Imperial Russia, 1894–1908," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(2), pages 401-427, February.
    3. 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.
    4. Fabio Braggion & Lyndon Moore, 2011. "Dividend Policies in an Unregulated Market: The London Stock Exchange, 1895--1905," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(9), pages 2935-2973.
    5. Denis, David J. & Osobov, Igor, 2008. "Why do firms pay dividends? International evidence on the determinants of dividend policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 62-82, July.
    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. Leslie Hannah, 2013. "A Global Census of Corporations in 1910," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-878, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    8. Gareth Campbell & John D. Turner, 2011. "Substitutes for legal protection: corporate governance and dividends in Victorian Britain," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64(2), pages 571-597, May.
    9. Agarwal, Sumit & Mohtadi, Hamid, 2004. "Financial markets and the financing choice of firms: Evidence from developing countries," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 57-70.
    10. 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.
    11. Asli Demeirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine (ed.), 0. "Finance and Growth," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 17119.
    12. Eric Hilt, 2014. "Corporate Governance and the Development of Manufacturing Enterprises in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts," NBER Chapters, in: Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective, pages 73-102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Merton H. Miller & Franco Modigliani, 1961. "Dividend Policy, Growth, and the Valuation of Shares," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34, pages 411-411.
    14. Jean Tirole, 2006. "The Theory of Corporate Finance," Post-Print hal-00173191, HAL.
    15. Oliver Hart, 2001. "Financial Contracting," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1079-1100, December.
    16. Baskin,Jonathan Barron & Miranti, Jr,Paul J., 1997. "A History of Corporate Finance," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521555142, October.
    17. A. J. ARNOLD & S. McCARTNEY, 2011. "‘Veritable gold mines before the arrival of railway competition’: but did dividends signal rates of return in the English canal industry?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 64(1), pages 214-236, February.
    18. Rajan, Raghuram G. & Zingales, Luigi, 2003. "The great reversals: the politics of financial development in the twentieth century," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 5-50, July.
    19. Harris, Ron, 2012. "Shareholder Democracies? Corporate Governance in Britain and Ireland Before 1850. By Mark Freeman, Robin Pearson, and James Taylor. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Pp. xiv, 389. $65.00, ha," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(4), pages 1102-1104, December.
    20. 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.
    21. Kahan, Arcadius, 1989. "Russian Economic History," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226422435, January.
    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. Tomihiro Machikita & Tetsuji Okazaki, 2019. "Transition to a Modern Regime and Change in PlantLifecycles: A Natural Experiment from Meiji Japan," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-1122, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    2. Gregg, Amanda & Nafziger, Steven, 2020. "Financing nascent industry: Leverage, politics, and performance in Imperial Russia," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    3. Emilie Bonhoure, 2021. "An Original Solution to Agency Issues Among PreWWI Paris-Listed Firms : The Statutory Rule of Profit Allocation," Working Papers halshs-03107869, HAL.
    4. Emilie Bonhoure, 2021. "An Original Solution to Agency Issues Among PreWWI Paris-Listed Firms : The Statutory Rule of Profit Allocation," PSE Working Papers halshs-03107869, HAL.
    5. Tomohiro Machikita & Tetsuji Okazaki, 2019. "Transition to a Modern Regime and Change in Plant Lifecycles: A Natural Experiment from Meiji Japan," CIGS Working Paper Series 19-006E, The Canon Institute for Global Studies.
    6. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Natkhov, Timur & Vasilenok, Natalia, 2021. "Skilled immigrants and technology adoption: Evidence from the German settlements in the Russian empire," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

    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. repec:zbw:bofitp:2020_007 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Gregg, Amanda & Nafziger, Steven, 2020. "Financing nascent industry: Leverage, politics, and performance in Imperial Russia," BOFIT Discussion Papers 7/2020, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    3. Turner, John D., 2014. "Financial history and financial economics," QUCEH Working Paper Series 14-03, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    4. Eric Hilt, 2014. "History of American Corporate Governance: Law, Institutions, and Politics," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Emilie Bonhoure, 2021. "An Original Solution to Agency Issues Among PreWWI Paris-Listed Firms : The Statutory Rule of Profit Allocation," PSE Working Papers halshs-03107869, HAL.
    6. Acheson, Graeme G. & Campbell, Gareth & Turner, John D., 2016. "Common law and the origin of shareholder protection," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2016-04, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    7. Emilie Bonhoure, 2021. "An Original Solution to Agency Issues Among PreWWI Paris-Listed Firms : The Statutory Rule of Profit Allocation," Working Papers halshs-03107869, HAL.
    8. Deloof, Marc & Vermoesen, Veronique, 2016. "The value of corporate boards during the Great Depression in Belgium," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 108-123.
    9. Overfelt, Wouter Van & Annaert, Jan & Ceuster, Marc De & Deloof, Marc, 2009. "Do universal banks create value? Universal bank affiliation and company performance in Belgium, 1905-1909," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 253-265, April.
    10. Ufuk Ince & James Owers, 2012. "The interaction of corporate dividend policy and capital structure decisions under differential tax regimes," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 36(1), pages 33-57, January.
    11. Graeme G. Acheson & Gareth Campbell & John D. Turner & Nadia Vanteeva, 2015. "Corporate ownership and control in Victorian Britain," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(3), pages 911-936, August.
    12. Turner, John D., 2024. "Three centuries of corporate governance in the UK," QUCEH Working Paper Series 24-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    13. Raghuram Rajan, 2012. "The Corporation in Finance," NBER Working Papers 17760, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Stereńczak, Szymon & Kubiak, Jarosław, 2022. "Dividend policy and stock liquidity: Lessons from Central and Eastern Europe," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Guinnane, Timothy W. & Schneebacher, Jakob, 2020. "Enterprise form: Theory and history," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    16. Marc Deloof & Ine Paeleman, 2024. "International entrepreneurship without investor protection: Evidence from initial public offerings in Belgium before the First World War," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(2), pages 523-553, May.
    17. Acheson, Graeme & Campbell, Gareth & Turner, John D., 2019. "Private Contracting, Law and Finance," QBS Working Paper Series 2019/05, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's Business School.
    18. Nishant B. Labhane, 2019. "Dividend Policy Decisions in India: Standalone Versus Business Group-Affiliated Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 20(1), pages 133-150, February.
    19. Paul Tanyi & David B. Smith & Xiaoyan Cheng, 2021. "Does firm payout policy affect shareholders’ dissatisfaction with directors?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 279-320, July.
    20. Turner, John D., 2017. "The development of English company law before 1900," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2017-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    21. du Jardin, Philippe & Séverin, Eric, 2011. "Dividend policy," MPRA Paper 44382, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:wil:wileco:2016-12. 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: Stephen Sheppard (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/edwilus.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.