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Managerial incentives and corporate leverage: evidence from the United Kingdom

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  • Chrisostomos Florackis
  • Aydin Ozkan

Abstract

This paper investigates the effect of managerial incentives and corporate governance on capital structure using a large sample of UK firms during the period 1999–2004. The analysis revolves around the view that managerial incentives are important in determining a firm's leverage. However, we argue that the exact impact of these incentives on leverage is likely to be determined by firm‐specific governance characteristics. To conduct our investigation, we construct a simple corporate governance measure using detailed ownership and governance information. We present evidence of a significant non‐monotonic relationship between executive ownership and leverage. There is also strong evidence suggesting that corporate governance practices have a significant impact on leverage. More importantly, the results reveal that the nature of the relation between executive ownership and leverage depends on the firm's corporate governance structure.

Suggested Citation

  • Chrisostomos Florackis & Aydin Ozkan, 2009. "Managerial incentives and corporate leverage: evidence from the United Kingdom," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 49(3), pages 531-553, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:49:y:2009:i:3:p:531-553
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-629X.2009.00296.x
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    10. Li, Wei-Xuan & Chen, Clara Chia-Sheng & French, Joseph J., 2012. "The relationship between liquidity, corporate governance, and firm valuation: Evidence from Russia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 465-477.
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    18. Florackis, Chris & Kanas, Angelos & Kostakis, Alexandros, 2015. "Dividend policy, managerial ownership and debt financing: A non-parametric perspective," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 241(3), pages 783-795.
    19. Kokoreva, Maria (Кокорева, Мария) & Ulugova, Aziza (Улугова, Азиза), 2015. "Corporate governance and finance company policy: a review of research [Корпоративное Управление И Политика Финансирования Компаний: Обзор Исследований]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 6, pages 160-170.
    20. Emmanuel Adu‐Ameyaw & Albert Danso & Linda Hickson, 2022. "Growth opportunity and investment policy: The role of managerial incentives," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(8), pages 3634-3646, December.
    21. Madhur Bhatia & Rachita Gulati, 2020. "Assessing the Quality of Bank Boards: Evidence from the Indian Banking Industry," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 14(4), pages 409-431, November.

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