Does Government Ownership Affect the Cost of Debt? Evidence from Privatization

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Borisova, Ginka; Megginson, William L.
• 署名单位: Iowa State University; University of Oklahoma System; University of Oklahoma - Norman
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0893-9454
• DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhq154
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 2693
• 关键词: OPERATING PERFORMANCE; corporate; RISK; state; spreads; matter; POLICY; yields; FIRMS; size

摘要

We explore whether government ownership affects the cost of debt using a sample of fully and partially privatized companies. On average across firms, a one-percentage-point decrease in government ownership is associated with an increase in the credit spread, used as a proxy for the cost of debt, by three-quarters of a basis point. However, fully privatized companies exhibit lower credit spreads than partially privatized firms, indicating the cost of a lengthy privatization process. Empirical evidence suggests that these findings result from decreasing government guarantees, firm performance improvements, ownership uncertainty, and bondholder-shareholder conflicts.