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The debt wish: Rent seeking by business groups and the structure of corporate borrowing in India

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  • Sumit Majumdar
  • Kunal Sen

Abstract

Business groups play an important role in emerging economies. The transactions cost perspective, which has dominated our understanding of such groups, argues that the emergence of business groups is a natural response to market failures in developing countries. In this paper, we propose an alternate theoretical perspective – the rent-seeking view – that takes these groups as engaging in coordinated lobbying for the capture of rents created by governments. We develop and implement an empirical strategy to test for the rent-seeking view drawing from the property rights theory of corporate finance. We find strong empirical support for the rent-seeking view using a large cross-sectional data-set of firms in India. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007

Suggested Citation

  • Sumit Majumdar & Kunal Sen, 2007. "The debt wish: Rent seeking by business groups and the structure of corporate borrowing in India," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 209-223, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:130:y:2007:i:1:p:209-223
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-006-9080-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2016. "R&D and the overseas earnings of Indian firms," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 104-111.
    2. Ramesh Jangili, 2019. "The Impact of size and group affiliation in emerging markets: A Cost efficiency analysis of Indian firms," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2019-036, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    3. Helen Wei Hu & Lin Cui & Preet S Aulakh, 2019. "State capitalism and performance persistence of business group-affiliated firms: A comparative study of China and India," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(2), pages 193-222, March.
    4. Luis Alfonso Dau & Randall Morck & Bernard Yin Yeung, 2021. "Business groups and the study of international business: A Coasean synthesis and extension," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(2), pages 161-211, March.
    5. Frederick Kibon Changwony & Anthony Kwabena Kyiu, 2024. "Business strategies and corruption in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises: The impact of business group affiliation, external auditing, and international standards certification," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 95-121, January.
    6. Sumit K. Majumdar & Arnab Bhattacharjee, 2014. "Firms, Markets, and the State: Institutional Change and Manufacturing Sector Profitability Variances in India," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(2), pages 509-528, April.
    7. Sumit Majumdar & Deepak Datta, 2009. "Foreign ownership and firm scope in India," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 39-52, February.
    8. Sanghee Park, 2018. "Understanding Public Sector Debt: Financial Vicious Circle under the Soft Budget Constraint," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 71-92, March.
    9. Sumit Majumdar & Kunal Sen, 2010. "Corporate borrowing and profitability in India," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 33-45.

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