IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/dyncon/v157y2023ics0165188923001677.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Underinvestment and optimal capital structure under environmental constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Luo, Pengfei
  • Tan, Yingxian
  • Yang, Jinqiang
  • Yao, Yanming

Abstract

We develop a Q-theoretical model for levered firms subject to environmental constraints (regulations). The model highlights the implications of environmental constraints on dynamic investment and optimal capital structure decisions. We find that environmental constraints can lead equityholders to become endogenously risk averse. Moreover, environmental constraints give rise to underinvestment in capital and asset sales, which is attributed to the carbon abatement effect caused by environmental constraints. In addition, firms with environmental constraints use conservative debt for low business risk and choose high leverage for high business risk relative to firms without environmental constraints, which is governed by the trade-off between abatement cost effect and risk-aversion effect caused by environmental constraints. Firms with environmental constraints have high credit spreads. Our theoretical results are consistent with some empirical findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Pengfei & Tan, Yingxian & Yang, Jinqiang & Yao, Yanming, 2023. "Underinvestment and optimal capital structure under environmental constraints," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:157:y:2023:i:c:s0165188923001677
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jedc.2023.104761
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165188923001677
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jedc.2023.104761?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hartl, Richard F. & Kort, Peter M., 1997. "Optimal input substitution of a firm facing an environmental constraint," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 336-352, June.
    2. Himmelberg, Charles P. & Tsyplakov, Sergey, 2020. "Optimal terms of contingent capital, incentive effects, and capital structure dynamics," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    3. Hui Chen & Jianjun Miao & Neng Wang, 2010. "Entrepreneurial Finance and Nondiversifiable Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(12), pages 4348-4388, December.
    4. Hackbarth, Dirk & Miao, Jianjun & Morellec, Erwan, 2006. "Capital structure, credit risk, and macroeconomic conditions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(3), pages 519-550, December.
    5. Patrick Bolton & Hui Chen & Neng Wang, 2011. "A Unified Theory of Tobin's q, Corporate Investment, Financing, and Risk Management," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1545-1578, October.
    6. Mark P. Sharfman & Chitru S. Fernando, 2008. "Environmental risk management and the cost of capital," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 569-592, June.
    7. Fard, Amirhossein & Javadi, Siamak & Kim, Incheol, 2020. "Environmental regulation and the cost of bank loans: International evidence," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    8. Richard Hartl & Peter Kort, 1996. "Capital accumulation of a firm facing an emissions tax," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 1-23, February.
    9. Phan, Dinh Hoang Bach & Tran, Vuong Thao & Ming, Tee Chwee & Le, Anh, 2022. "Carbon risk and corporate investment: A cross-country evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    10. Nguyen, Justin Hung & Phan, Hieu V., 2020. "Carbon risk and corporate capital structure," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    11. Gryglewicz, Sebastian, 2011. "A theory of corporate financial decisions with liquidity and solvency concerns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 365-384, February.
    12. Leland, Hayne E, 1994. "Corporate Debt Value, Bond Covenants, and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(4), pages 1213-1252, September.
    13. Shibata, Takashi & Nishihara, Michi, 2015. "Investment timing, debt structure, and financing constraints," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 241(2), pages 513-526.
    14. Lee H. Seltzer & Laura Starks & Qifei Zhu, 2022. "Climate Regulatory Risk and Corporate Bonds," NBER Working Papers 29994, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Winston Wei Dou & Yan Ji & David Reibstein & Wei Wu, 2021. "Inalienable Customer Capital, Corporate Liquidity, and Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 76(1), pages 211-265, February.
    16. TallariniJr., Thomas D., 2000. "Risk-sensitive real business cycles," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 507-532, June.
    17. Hayashi, Fumio, 1982. "Tobin's Marginal q and Average q: A Neoclassical Interpretation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(1), pages 213-224, January.
    18. Winston Wei Dou & Yan Ji, 2021. "External Financing and Customer Capital: A Financial Theory of Markups," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(9), pages 5569-5585, September.
    19. Peter M. Demarzo & Michael J. Fishman & Zhiguo He & Neng Wang, 2012. "Dynamic Agency and the q Theory of Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(6), pages 2295-2340, December.
    20. Meirong Su & Chen Liang & Bin Chen & Shaoqing Chen & Zhifeng Yang, 2012. "Low-Carbon Development Patterns: Observations of Typical Chinese Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-14, February.
    21. Wang, Chong & Wang, Neng & Yang, Jinqiang, 2012. "A unified model of entrepreneurship dynamics," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(1), pages 1-23.
    22. Zhang, Qi & Yu, Zhi & Kong, Dongmin, 2019. "The real effect of legal institutions: Environmental courts and firm environmental protection expenditure," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    23. Albrizio, Silvia & Kozluk, Tomasz & Zipperer, Vera, 2017. "Environmental policies and productivity growth: Evidence across industries and firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 209-226.
    24. Bolton, Patrick & Chen, Hui & Wang, Neng, 2013. "Market timing, investment, and risk management," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(1), pages 40-62.
    25. Robert S. Pindyck & Neng Wang, 2013. "The Economic and Policy Consequences of Catastrophes," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(4), pages 306-339, November.
    26. Black, Fischer & Scholes, Myron S, 1973. "The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 637-654, May-June.
    27. Della Seta, Marco & Morellec, Erwan & Zucchi, Francesca, 2020. "Short-term debt and incentives for risk-taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 179-203.
    28. Balachandran, Balasingham & Nguyen, Justin Hung, 2018. "Does carbon risk matter in firm dividend policy? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in an imputation environment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 249-267.
    29. Nishihara, Michi & Shibata, Takashi, 2021. "The effects of asset liquidity on dynamic sell-out and bankruptcy decisions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 288(3), pages 1017-1035.
    30. Seokwoo Lee & Alejandro Rivera, 2021. "Extrapolation Bias and Robust Dynamic Liquidity Management," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(10), pages 6421-6442, October.
    31. He, Zhiguo, 2011. "A model of dynamic compensation and capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 351-366, May.
    32. Ai, Hengjie & Li, Rui, 2015. "Investment and CEO compensation under limited commitment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(3), pages 452-472.
    33. Balter, Anne G. & Huisman, Kuno J.M. & Kort, Peter M., 2022. "New insights in capacity investment under uncertainty," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    34. Dockner, Engelbert J. & Hartl, Richard F. & Kort, Peter M., 2019. "Dynamic capital structure choice and investment timing," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 70-80.
    35. Wang, Huamao & Yang, Zhaojun & Zhang, Hai, 2015. "Entrepreneurial finance with equity-for-guarantee swap and idiosyncratic risk," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 241(3), pages 863-871.
    36. Della Seta, Marco & Gryglewicz, Sebastian & Kort, Peter M., 2012. "Optimal investment in learning-curve technologies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(10), pages 1462-1476.
    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. Min Liu & Yamei Li & Jiangfeng Hu, 2024. "Does the Yangtze River Protection Strategy help heavily polluting corporates deleverage? Evidence from corporates in the Yangtze River Economic Belt," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 1-30, April.

    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. Bolton, Patrick & Li, Ye & Wang, Neng & Yang, Jinqiang, 2020. "Dynamic Banking and the Value of Deposits," Working Paper Series 2020-13, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.
    2. Bolton, Patrick & Wang, Neng & Yang, Jinqiang, 2019. "Investment under uncertainty with financial constraints," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    3. Strebulaev, Ilya A. & Whited, Toni M., 2012. "Dynamic Models and Structural Estimation in Corporate Finance," Foundations and Trends(R) in Finance, now publishers, vol. 6(1–2), pages 1-163, November.
    4. Yu Huang & Nengjiu Ju & Hao Xing, 2023. "Performance Evaluation, Managerial Hedging, and Contract Termination," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(8), pages 4953-4971, August.
    5. Huang, Wenli & Liu, Bo & Wang, Hongli & Yang, Jinqiang, 2019. "Dynamic optimal investment policy under incomplete information," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    6. Décamps, Jean-Paul & Gryglewicz, S. & Morellec, E. & Villeneuve, Stéphane, 2015. "Corporate Policies with Temporary and Permanent Shocks," TSE Working Papers 15-552, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised 15 Jun 2016.
    7. Xia, Xin & Gan, Liu, 2021. "Financing with equity-for-guarantee swaps and dynamic investment under incomplete markets," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 349-360.
    8. Décamps, Jean Paul & Morellec, Erwan & Villeneuve, Stéphane & Gryglewicz, Sebastian, 2015. "Corporate policies with permanent and temporary shocks," CEPR Discussion Papers 10420, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Liu Gan & Chong Wang, 2021. "Option‐for‐guarantee swaps and flexible investment opportunities," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 1286-1301, December.
    10. Ruan, Xinfeng & Zhang, Jin E., 2018. "Equilibrium variance risk premium in a cost-free production economy," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 42-60.
    11. Lambrecht, Bart M., 2017. "Real options in finance," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 166-171.
    12. Della Seta, Marco & Morellec, Erwan & Zucchi, Francesca, 2020. "Short-term debt and incentives for risk-taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(1), pages 179-203.
    13. Patrick Bolton & Neng Wang & Jinqiang Yang, 2016. "Liquidity and Risk Management: Coordinating Investment and Compensation Policies," 2016 Meeting Papers 1703, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Sergio Rebelo & Neng Wang & Jinqiang Yang, 2022. "Rare Disasters, Financial Development, and Sovereign Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(5), pages 2719-2764, October.
    15. Dirk Hackbarth & Alejandro Rivera & Tak-Yuen Wong, 2022. "Optimal Short-Termism," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(9), pages 6477-6505, September.
    16. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2019_018 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Li, Delong & Lu, Lei & Mu, Congming & Yang, Jinqiang, 2019. "Biased beliefs, costly external finance, and firm behavior : A Unified theory," Research Discussion Papers 18/2019, Bank of Finland.
    18. Lin, Chunpeng & Yang, Jinqiang, 2022. "Entrepreneur’s incentives for risk-taking and short-term debt," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    19. Liu, Bo & Niu, Yingjie & Zhang, Yuhua, 2019. "Corporate liquidity and risk management with time-inconsistent preferences," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 295-307.
    20. Pegoraro, Stefano, 2024. "Risk aversion with nothing to lose," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    21. Murphy, Austin & Headley, Adrian, 2022. "An empirical evaluation of alternative fundamental models of credit spreads," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Underinvestment; Capital structure; Environmental constraints;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    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:eee:dyncon:v:157:y:2023:i:c:s0165188923001677. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jedc .

    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.