IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v19y2010i3p483-500.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Securities laws in the host countries and the capital structure of US multinationals

Author

Listed:
  • Mishra, Dev
  • Tannous, George

Abstract

We examine whether securities laws in the host countries influence the capital structure choice of United States (US) multinational corporations. We develop firm-level global indices to classify each corporation in terms of its exposure to the security laws that govern the rights of security holders in the countries where it has subsidiaries. The results show that the use of long-term debt is positively related to the firm's global standing in terms of common law legal origin, burden of proof, investor protection, disclosure requirements, and public enforcement. The securities laws in a country affect the capital structure of multinational corporations that has subsidiaries in that country.

Suggested Citation

  • Mishra, Dev & Tannous, George, 2010. "Securities laws in the host countries and the capital structure of US multinationals," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 483-500, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:19:y:2010:i:3:p:483-500
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059-0560(09)00118-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    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. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 2006. "What Works in Securities Laws?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 1-32, February.
    2. Stewart C. Myers & Nicholas S. Majluf, 1984. "Corporate Financing and Investment Decisions When Firms Have InformationThat Investors Do Not Have," NBER Working Papers 1396, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    4. Eduardo Menendez-Alonso, 2003. "Does diversification strategy matter in explaining capital structure? Some evidence from Spain," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(6), pages 427-430.
    5. Bradley, Michael & Jarrell, Gregg A & Kim, E Han, 1984. "On the Existence of an Optimal Capital Structure: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 857-878, July.
    6. Kuipers, David R. & Miller, Darius P. & Patel, Ajay, 2009. "The legal environment and corporate valuation: Evidence from cross-border takeovers," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 552-567, October.
    7. Mauer, David C. & Sarkar, Sudipto, 2005. "Real options, agency conflicts, and optimal capital structure," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 1405-1428, June.
    8. Harvey, Campbell R. & Lins, Karl V. & Roper, Andrew H., 2004. "The effect of capital structure when expected agency costs are extreme," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 3-30, October.
    9. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1998. "Law and Finance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(6), pages 1113-1155, December.
    10. Prowse, Stephen D., 1990. "Institutional investment patterns and corporate financial behavior in the United States and Japan," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 43-66, September.
    11. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    12. Brounen, Dirk & de Jong, Abe & Koedijk, Kees, 2006. "Capital structure policies in Europe: Survey evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1409-1442, May.
    13. Franck Bancel & Usha R. Mittoo, 2004. "Cross-Country Determinants of Capital Structure Choice: A Survey of European Firms," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(4), Winter.
    14. Chiou, Wan-Jiun Paul & Lee, Alice C. & Lee, Cheng-Few, 2010. "Stock return, risk, and legal environment around the world," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 95-105, January.
    15. Jianjun Miao, 2005. "Optimal Capital Structure and Industry Dynamics," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2621-2659, December.
    16. Doukas, John A. & Pantzalis, Christos, 2003. "Geographic diversification and agency costs of debt of multinational firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 59-92, January.
    17. Pound, John, 1988. "Proxy contests and the efficiency of shareholder oversight," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1-2), pages 237-265, January.
    18. Giannetti, Mariassunta, 2003. "Do Better Institutions Mitigate Agency Problems? Evidence from Corporate Finance Choices," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 185-212, March.
    19. George Allayannis & Jane Ihrig & James P. Weston, 2001. "Exchange-Rate Hedging: Financial versus Operational Strategies," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(2), pages 391-395, May.
    20. Todd A Burgman, 1996. "An Empirical Examination of Multinational Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 27(3), pages 553-570, September.
    21. Charles J P Chen & C S Agnes Cheng & Jia He & Jawon kim, 1997. "An Investigation of the Relationship between International Activities and Capital Structure," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 28(3), pages 563-577, September.
    22. Klock, Mark S. & Mansi, Sattar A. & Maxwell, William F., 2005. "Does Corporate Governance Matter to Bondholders?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(4), pages 693-719, December.
    23. repec:bla:jfinan:v:43:y:1988:i:1:p:1-19 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Kalu Ojah & Justo Manrique, 2005. "Determinants of corporate debt structure in a privately dominated debt market: a study of the Spanish capital market," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(7), pages 455-468.
    25. Toy, Norman & Stonehill, Arthur & Remmers, Lee & Wright, Richard & Beekhuisen, Theo, 1974. "A Comparative International Study of Growth, Profitability, and Risk as Determinants of Corporate Debt Ratios in the Manufacturing Sector," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(5), pages 875-886, November.
    26. Chuck C Y Kwok & David M Reeb, 2000. "Internationalization and Firm Risk: An Upstream-Downstream Hypothesis," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 31(4), pages 611-629, December.
    27. Kwang Chul Lee & Chuck C Y Kwok, 1988. "Multinational Corporations vs. Domestic Corporations: International Environmental Factors and Determinants of Capital Structure," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(2), pages 195-217, June.
    28. Castanias, Richard, 1983. "Bankruptcy Risk and Optimal Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 38(5), pages 1617-1635, December.
    29. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 1999. "Institutions, financial markets, and firm debt maturity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 295-336, December.
    30. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    31. Childs, Paul D. & Mauer, David C. & Ott, Steven H., 2005. "Interactions of corporate financing and investment decisions: The effects of agency conflicts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(3), pages 667-690, June.
    32. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    33. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Ang, James S & Chua, Jess H & McConnell, John J, 1982. "The Administrative Costs of Corporate Bankruptcy: A Note," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(1), pages 219-226, March.
    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. Nguyen, Quyen T.K. & Almodóvar, Paloma, 2018. "Export intensity of foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises: The role of trade finance availability," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 231-245.
    2. Nguyen, Quyen T.K. & Almodóvar, Paloma & Wei, Ziyi, 2022. "Intra-firm and arm’s length export propensity and intensity of MNE foreign subsidiaries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 288-308.
    3. Lin, Hsien-Ping & Walker, M. Mark & Wang, Yung-Jang, 2020. "Shareholder wealth effects of corporate fraud: Evidence from Taiwan’s securities investor and futures trader protection act," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 222-243.
    4. Lindner, Thomas & Klein, Florian & Schmidt, Stefan, 2018. "The effect of internationalization on firm capital structure: A meta-analysis and exploration of institutional contingencies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1238-1249.
    5. repec:rej:journl:v:15:y:2012:i:45:p:3-26 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Troilo, Michael & Walkup, Brian R. & Abe, Masato & Lee, Seulki, 2019. "Legal systems and the financing of working capital," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 641-656.
    7. ZHANG, Jiarui & HOU, Lei, 2014. "Financial structure, productivity, and risk of foreign direct investment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 652-669.

    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. Joliet, Robert & Muller, Aline, 2013. "Capital structure effects of international expansion," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 375-393.
    2. Lindner, Thomas & Muellner, Jakob & Puck, Jonas, 2016. "Cost of Capital in an International Context: Institutional Distance, Quality, and Dynamics," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 234-248.
    3. Kayo, Eduardo K. & Kimura, Herbert, 2011. "Hierarchical determinants of capital structure," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 358-371, February.
    4. Mário Santos & António Moreira & Elisabete Vieira, 2014. "Ownership concentration, contestability, family firms, and capital structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1063-1107, November.
    5. An, Zhe & Li, Donghui & Yu, Jin, 2016. "Earnings management, capital structure, and the role of institutional environments," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 131-152.
    6. Chiung-Jung Chen & Chwo-Ming Joseph Yu, 2011. "FDI, Export, and Capital Structure," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 51(3), pages 295-320, June.
    7. Maria Psillaki & Nikolaos Daskalakis, 2009. "Are the determinants of capital structure country or firm specific?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 319-333, October.
    8. Ramli, Nur Ainna & Latan, Hengky & Solovida, Grace T., 2019. "Determinants of capital structure and firm financial performance—A PLS-SEM approach: Evidence from Malaysia and Indonesia," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 148-160.
    9. Lindner, Thomas & Klein, Florian & Schmidt, Stefan, 2018. "The effect of internationalization on firm capital structure: A meta-analysis and exploration of institutional contingencies," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 1238-1249.
    10. Pacheco, Luís, 2016. "Capital structure and internationalization: The case of Portuguese industrial SMEs," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 531-545.
    11. Rana El Bahsh & Ali Alattar & Aziz N. Yusuf, 2018. "Firm, Industry and Country Level Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Jordan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(2), pages 175-190.
    12. Alves, Paulo & Francisco, Paulo, 2015. "The impact of institutional environment on the capital structure of firms during recent financial crises," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 129-146.
    13. Mai, Nhat Chi, 2012. "Market timing, taxes and capital structure: evidence from Vietnam," OSF Preprints t3mvs, Center for Open Science.
    14. Alves, Paulo F. Pereira & Ferreira, Miguel A., 2011. "Capital structure and law around the world," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 119-150, July.
    15. Gungoraydinoglu, Ali & Öztekin, Özde, 2011. "Firm- and country-level determinants of corporate leverage: Some new international evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 1457-1474.
    16. Mittoo, Usha R. & Zhang, Zhou, 2008. "The capital structure of multinational corporations: Canadian versus U.S. evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 706-720, December.
    17. Aggarwal, Raj & Kyaw, NyoNyo A., 2008. "Internal capital networks as a source of MNC competitive advantage: Evidence from foreign subsidiary capital structure decisions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 409-439, September.
    18. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2005. "Company Financial Structure: A Survey and Implications for Developing Economies," Chapters, in: Christopher J. Green & Colin Kirkpatrick & Victor Murinde (ed.), Finance and Development, chapter 12, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Antonczyk, Ron Christian & Salzmann, Astrid Juliane, 2014. "Overconfidence and optimism: The effect of national culture on capital structure," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 132-151.
    20. Isil Erol & Dogan Tirtiroglu, 2011. "Concentrated Ownership, No Dividend Payout Requirement and Capital Structure of REITs: Evidence from Turkey," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 174-204, July.

    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:reveco:v:19:y:2010:i:3:p:483-500. 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/inca/620165 .

    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.