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作者：Li, Shaojin; Whited, Toni M.; Wu, Yufeng
作者单位：Shanghai University of Finance & Economics; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of Illinois System; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
摘要：We quantify the importance of collateral versus taxes for firms' capital structures. We estimate a dynamic model in which a taxable firm seeks financing for investment, and a dynamic contracting environment motivates endogenous collateral constraints. Optimal leverage stays a safe distance from the constraint, balancing the tax benefit of debt with the cost of lost financial flexibility. We estimate this flexibility cost to be 7.2% of firm assets, a percentage that is comparable to the tax ben...
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作者：Bond, Philip; Zhong, Hongda
作者单位：University of Washington; University of Washington Seattle; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
摘要：Share prices generally fall when a firm announces a seasoned equity offering (SEO). A standard explanation is that an SEO communicates negative information to investors. We show that if repeated capital market transactions are possible, this same asymmetry of information between firms and investors implies that some firms also repurchase shares in equilibrium. A subset of these firms directly profit from repurchases, while other firms repurchase in order to improve the terms of a subsequent SE...
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作者：Fos, Vyacheslav; Jiang, Wei
作者单位：Boston College; Columbia University
摘要：When a proxy contest is looming, the rate at which CEOs exercise options to sell (hold) the resulting shares slows down by 80% (accelerates by 60%), consistent with their desire to maintain or strengthen voting rights when facing challenges. Such deviations are closely aligned with features unique to proxy contests, such as the record dates and nomination status, and are more pronounced when the private benefits are higher or when the voting rights are more crucial. The distortions suggest tha...
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作者：Li, Zhi; Wang, Lingling
作者单位：University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; University of Connecticut
摘要：The percentage of S&P 500 firms using multiyear accounting-based performance (MAP) incentives for CEOs increased from 16.5% in 1996 to 43.3% in 2008. The use and design of MAP incentives depend on the signal quality of accounting versus stock performance, shareholder horizons, strategic imperatives, and board independence. After the technology bubble, option expensing, and the publicity of option backdating, firms increasingly use stock-based MAP plans to replace options, resulting in changes ...
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作者：Crane, Alan D.; Michenaud, Sebastien; Weston, James P.
作者单位：Rice University; DePaul University
摘要：We show that higher institutional ownership causes firms to pay more dividends. Our identification relies on a discontinuity in ownership around Russell index thresholds. Our estimates indicate that a one-percentage-point increase in institutional ownership causes a $7 million (8%) increase in dividends. We also find differences in shareholder proposals and voting patterns that suggest that even nonactivist institutions play an important role in monitoring firm behavior. The effect of institut...
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作者：Reinartz, Sebastian J.; Schmid, Thomas
作者单位：Technical University of Munich; University of Hong Kong
摘要：We examine how production flexibility affects financial leverage. A worldwide sample of energy utilities allows us to apply direct measures for production flexibility based on their power plants. We find that production flexibility increases financial leverage. For identification, we exploit privatizations and deregulations of electricity markets, geographical variations in natural resources, the technological evolution of gas-fired power plants, and differences in electricity prices and recap...
