Does the source of capital affect capital structure?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Faulkender, M; Petersen, MA
• 署名单位: Washington University (WUSTL); Northwestern University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: REVIEW OF FINANCIAL STUDIES
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0893-9454
• DOI: 10.1093/rfs/hhj003
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 45
• 关键词: Financial intermediation; BANKING RELATIONSHIPS; credit conditions; Debt maturity; private debt; public debt; corporate; determinants; CHOICE; taxes

摘要

Prior work on leverage implicitly assumes capital availability depends solely on firm characteristics. However, market frictions that make capital structure relevant may also be associated with a firm's source of capital. Examining this intuition, we find firms that have access to the public bond markets, as measured by having a debt rating, have significantly more leverage. Although firms with a rating are fundamentally different, these differences do not explain our findings. Even after controlling for firm characteristics that determine observed capital structure, and instrumenting for the possible endogeneity of having a rating, firms with access have 35% more debt.