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A Comparison of the Financial Characteristics of U.S. and German Manufacturing Firms

Author

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  • Daniel Folkinshteyn
  • Ozge Uygur
  • Gulser Meric

Abstract

The U.S. and Germany rank #1 and #3, respectively, in the world, in terms of the total amount of international trade. U.S. and German firms compete with one another for a larger market share in other countries and in each other’s local markets. And yet, there are no published studies that compare the financial management practices of U.S. and German firms. In this paper, we make a contribution to the finance literature on this subject by comparing the financial characteristics of U.S. and German manufacturing firms. Our findings provide valuable insights for corporate financial managers and for investors who invest in these countries. Using a sample of 1166 firms, we find that the financial characteristics of U.S. manufacturing firms differ significantly from those of German manufacturing firms. MANOVA test results indicate that U.S. firms exhibit higher liquidity, lower debt, higher profitability, and lower total assets turnover. These findings are also supported by the logistic regression results. We suggest that better financial performance of U.S. firms could be attributed to more business-friendly employment laws and lower levels of unionization in the United States.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel Folkinshteyn & Ozge Uygur & Gulser Meric, 2014. "A Comparison of the Financial Characteristics of U.S. and German Manufacturing Firms," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 8(5), pages 9-22.
    • Handle: RePEc:ibf:ijbfre:v:8:y:2014:i:5:p:9-22
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Financial Ratios; Manufacturing; United States; Germany; MANOVA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies

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