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The Use of Debt and Equity in Optimal Financial Contracts

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  • Boyd, John H.
  • Smith, Bruce D.

Abstract

We consider an environment in which risk-neutral firms must obtain external finance. They have access to two kinds of linear, stochastic investment opportunities. For one, return realizations are costlessly observed by all agents. For the other, return realizations are costlessly observed only by the investing firm; however, they can be (privately) observed by outsiders who bear a fixed verification cost. Thus, the second investment opportunity is subject to a standard costly state verification (CSV) problem of the type considered by Townsend (1979), Gale and Hellwig (1985), or Williamson (1986, 1987). ; We examine the optimal allocations of investment between the two kinds of projects, as well as the optimal contract used to finance it. We show that the optimal contractual outcome can be supported by having firms issue appropriate (and determinate) quantities of debt and equity securities to outside investors. ; The optimal debt-equity ratio necessarily depends (in part) on the firm's asset structure. Investments in projects subject to CSV problems are associated (in a sense to be made precise) with the use of debt - as might be expected from the existing CSV literature. Investments in projects with publicly observable returns are associated with the use of external equity. ; We examine in detail the relationship between the optimal asset and liability structure of the firm. We also describe conditions under which an increase in the cost of state verification shifts the composition of investment towards projects with observable returns, and reduces the optimal debt-equity ratio. Interestingly, the optimal debt-equity ratio is also shown to depend on factors that are irrelevant to asset allocations. ; Finally, a large part of the interest in CSV environments has been due to the fact that they may result in equilibrium credit rationing. Our analysis has strong implications for the possibility of equilibrium credit rationing in more general CSV models.
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  • Boyd, John H. & Smith, Bruce D., 1999. "The Use of Debt and Equity in Optimal Financial Contracts," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 270-316, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinin:v:8:y:1999:i:4:p:270-316
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    4. Attar, Andrea & Campioni, Eloisa, 2003. "Costly state verification and debt contracts: a critical resume," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(4), pages 315-343, December.
    5. Paul‐Olivier Klein & Laurent Weill, 2016. "Why do companies issue sukuk?," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 26-33, November.
    6. Jana BADRAN & Maria CHAMOUN, 2024. "Corporate Governance and Banking Stability in the MENA Region," International Business Research, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 17(2), pages 1-31, April.
    7. Spiegel, Mark M., 2005. "Solvency runs, sunspot runs, and international bailouts," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(1), pages 203-219, January.
    8. Hans K. Hvide & Tore Leite, 2003. "A Theory of Capital Structure with Strategic Defaults and Priority Violations," Finance 0311003, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Khalil, Fahad & Martimort, David & Parigi, Bruno, 2007. "Monitoring a common agent: Implications for financial contracting," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 35-67, July.
    10. Elosegui, Pedro Luis, 2003. "Aggregate risk, credit rationing and capital accumulation," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 668-696.
    11. Persons, John C., 1997. "Liars Never Prosper? How Management Misrepresentation Reduces Monitoring Costs," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 269-306, October.
    12. Benigno, Pierpaolo & Robatto, Roberto, 2016. "Private Money Creation and Equilibrium Liquidity," CEPR Discussion Papers 11242, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    13. ATTAR, Andréa, 2003. "Financial contracting along the business cycle," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2003069, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).

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