IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/mfa/journl/v29y2021i1p1-16.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interaction Impact of Monetary Policy and Inflation on Corporate Debt in Developing Nations

Author

Listed:
  • Bolaji Tunde Matemilola

    (School of Business and Economics, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.)

  • Mohamed Azali

    (School of Business and Economics, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia.)

Abstract

Research Question: Several firms in developing countries are increasing debt capital to take advantage of debt interest tax-shield but they are also exposed to bankruptcy, especially during this recent coronavirus pandemic period. Motivation: After 60 years of scholarly research, the determination of firms’ capital structure is still a puzzle and is unending. Modigliani and Miller (1963) theory incorporates taxes and it allows for usage of 100 percent debt capital because of absence of bankruptcy costs; but Myers (1984) theory argues for the existence of an optimal capital structure that maximize firms’ value. This study provides empirical validation to the effectiveness of monetary policy to lower corporate debt in the firms’ capital structure. Idea: The article examines the moderating role of monetary policy on the relationship between corporate debt ratios and inflation rate in developing countries, and the moderating role of monetary policy on the relationship between corporate debt ratios and interest rate. Data: Monetary policy rate data are obtained from the official website of each country and from the Economics Trading Websites. Other macroeconomic data are obtained from the World Bank Databases. Institutional quality data are obtained from World Governance Indicators. The firm-level data are obtained from the Datastream databases. We use a total of 3,827 listed firms covering 2007 to 2015 periods. Method/Tools: The study applies the two-step system generalized method of moments which mitigate endogeneity problem. Findings: The findings reveal that monetary policy weakens the positive effect of inflation rate on corporate debt ratios. Conversely, monetary policy strengthens the negative effect of interest rates on corporate debt ratios. These findings suggest that that monetary policy appears effective to lower corporate debt ratios. Moreover, firms should take monetary policy signals into consideration when formulating capital structure decisions. Contributions: First, the article extends earlier studies by introducing new variable – the money market rate as a proxy for monetary policy and examine the issue of whether monetary policy moderate the relationship between inflation rate and corporate debt. Second, the article examines the issue of the moderating role of monetary policy on the relationship between interest rate and corporate debt.

Suggested Citation

  • Bolaji Tunde Matemilola & Mohamed Azali, 2021. "Interaction Impact of Monetary Policy and Inflation on Corporate Debt in Developing Nations," Capital Markets Review, Malaysian Finance Association, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16.
    • Handle: RePEc:mfa:journl:v:29:y:2021:i:1:p:1-16
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mfa.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/v29_i1_a1_pg1-16.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Didier, Tatiana & Huneeus, Federico & Larrain, Mauricio & Schmukler, Sergio L., 2021. "Financing firms in hibernation during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    2. Robert A. Taggart, Jr., 1985. "Secular Patterns in the Financing of U.S. Corporations," NBER Chapters, in: Corporate Capital Structures in the United States, pages 13-80, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Greg Kaplan & Benjamin Moll & Giovanni L. Violante, 2018. "Monetary Policy According to HANK," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(3), pages 697-743, March.
    4. Urban Jermann & Vincenzo Quadrini, 2012. "Macroeconomic Effects of Financial Shocks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 238-271, February.
    5. 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.
    6. Wei Jiang, 2017. "Have Instrumental Variables Brought Us Closer to the Truth," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 6(2), pages 127-140.
    7. Flannery, Mark J. & Hankins, Kristine Watson, 2013. "Estimating dynamic panel models in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 1-19.
    8. 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.
    9. Murray Z. Frank & Vidhan K. Goyal, 2009. "Capital Structure Decisions: Which Factors Are Reliably Important?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 38(1), pages 1-37, March.
    10. Alberto Naudon & Joaquín Vial, 2016. "The evolution of inflation in Chile since 2000," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Inflation mechanisms, expectations and monetary policy, volume 89, pages 93-116, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Olivier Coibion & Yuriy Gorodnichenko, 2011. "Monetary Policy, Trend Inflation, and the Great Moderation: An Alternative Interpretation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(1), pages 341-370, February.
    12. Malcolm Baker & Jeffrey Wurgler, 2002. "Market Timing and Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    13. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    14. Stewart C. Myers, 2001. "Capital Structure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 81-102, Spring.
    15. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    16. Katagiri, Mitsuru, 2014. "A macroeconomic approach to corporate capital structure," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 79-94.
    17. Demirgüç-Kunt, Asli & Martinez Peria, Maria Soledad & Tressel, Thierry, 2020. "The global financial crisis and the capital structure of firms: Was the impact more severe among SMEs and non-listed firms?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. Khémiri, Wafa & Noubbigh, Hédi, 2018. "Determinants of capital structure: Evidence from sub-Saharan African firms," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 150-159.
    19. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1995. "What Do We Know about Capital Structure? Some Evidence from International Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1421-1460, December.
    20. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    21. Urban Jermann & Vincenzo Quadrini, 2012. "Erratum: Macroeconomic Effects of Financial Shocks," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 1186-1186, April.
    22. Michael L. Lemmon & Michael R. Roberts & Jaime F. Zender, 2008. "Back to the Beginning: Persistence and the Cross‐Section of Corporate Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 63(4), pages 1575-1608, August.
    23. Holton, Sarah & Rodriguez d’Acri, Costanza, 2018. "Interest rate pass-through since the euro area crisis," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 277-291.
    24. Bolaji Tunde Matemilola & Rubi Ahmad, 2015. "Debt financing and importance of fixed assets and goodwill assets as collateral: dynamic panel evidence," Journal of Business Economics and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(2), pages 407-421, April.
    25. Antoniou, Antonios & Guney, Yilmaz & Paudyal, Krishna, 2008. "The Determinants of Capital Structure: Capital Market-Oriented versus Bank-Oriented Institutions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 43(1), pages 59-92, March.
    26. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    27. Belkhir, Mohamed & Maghyereh, Aktham & Awartani, Basel, 2016. "Institutions and corporate capital structure in the MENA region," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 99-129.
    28. Fan, Joseph P. H. & Titman, Sheridan & Twite, Garry, 2012. "An International Comparison of Capital Structure and Debt Maturity Choices," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(1), pages 23-56, February.
    29. Petrevski, Goran & Bogoev, Jane, 2012. "Interest rate pass-through in South East Europe: An empirical analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 571-593.
    30. Joye Khoo & Robert B. Durand & Subhrendu Rath, 2017. "Leverage adjustment after mergers and acquisitions," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 57, pages 185-210, April.
    31. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    32. Satish Kumar & Sisira Colombage & Purnima Rao, 2017. "Research on capital structure determinants: a review and future directions," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 13(2), pages 106-132, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Matemilola, Bolaji Tunde & Bany-Ariffin, A.N. & Azman-Saini, W.N.W. & Nassir, Annuar Md, 2019. "Impact of institutional quality on the capital structure of firms in developing countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 175-209.
    2. Pinto, João M. & Silva, Cátia S., 2021. "Does export intensity affect corporate leverage? Evidence from Portuguese SMEs," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    3. Iván Arribas & Emili Tortosa-Ausina & TingTing Zhu, 2021. "Optimal capital structure, model uncertainty, and European SMEs," Working Papers 2021/11, Economics Department, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón (Spain).
    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. Rubi Ahmad & Oyebola Fatima Etudaiye-Muhtar, 2017. "Dynamic Model of Optimal Capital Structure: Evidence from Nigerian Listed Firms," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 18(3), pages 590-604, June.
    6. Temimi, Akram & Zeitun, Rami & Mimouni, Karim, 2016. "How does the tax status of a country impact capital structure? Evidence from the GCC region," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 37, pages 71-89.
    7. Hanifa, Mohamed Hisham & Masih, Mansur & Bacha, Obiyathulla, 2014. "Testing Sukuk And Conventional Bond Offers Based On Corporate Financing Theories Using Partial Adjustment Models: Evidence From Malaysian Listed Firms," MPRA Paper 56953, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Ebrahim, M. Shahid & Girma, Sourafel & Shah, M. Eskandar & Williams, Jonathan, 2014. "Dynamic capital structure and political patronage: The case of Malaysia," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 117-128.
    9. Viet Anh Dang, 2013. "Testing capital structure theories using error correction models: evidence from the UK, France and Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(2), pages 171-190, January.
    10. Belkhir, Mohamed & Maghyereh, Aktham & Awartani, Basel, 2016. "Institutions and corporate capital structure in the MENA region," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 99-129.
    11. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Gounopoulos, Dimitrios & Merikas, Andreas & Schröder, Henning, 2013. "Capital structure decisions of globally-listed shipping companies," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 49-76.
    12. Raja Zekri Ben Hamouda & Nessrine Hamzaoui & Faouzi Jilani, 2023. "Capital Structure Determinants: New Evidence from the MENA Region Countries," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 13(1), pages 144-163, January.
    13. Viet Anh Dang, 2011. "Testing Capital Structure Theories Using Error Correction Models: Evidence From The Uk, France And Germany," Post-Print hal-00732527, HAL.
    14. Elena Alexandra Nenu & Georgeta Vintilă & Ştefan Cristian Gherghina, 2018. "The Impact of Capital Structure on Risk and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence for the Bucharest Stock Exchange Listed Companies," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-29, April.
    15. Dang, Viet Anh & Kim, Minjoo & Shin, Yongcheol, 2014. "Asymmetric adjustment toward optimal capital structure: Evidence from a crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 226-242.
    16. Natalia Szomko, 2017. "The Importance of Estimation Method Choice for the Analysis of the Determinants of Capital Structure– An Example of Poland," World Journal of Applied Economics, WERI-World Economic Research Institute, vol. 3(1), pages 3-20, June.
    17. Pindado, Julio & Requejo, Ignacio & Rivera, Juan C., 2017. "Economic forecast and corporate leverage choices: The role of the institutional environment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 121-144.
    18. İbrahim Yarba & Z. Nuray Güner, 2020. "Leverage dynamics: Do financial development and government leverage matter? Evidence from a major developing economy," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 59(5), pages 2473-2507, November.
    19. Hang, Markus & Geyer-Klingeberg, Jerome & Rathgeber, Andreas W. & Stöckl, Stefan, 2018. "Measurement matters—A meta-study of the determinants of corporate capital structure," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 211-225.
    20. Quratulain Zafar & Winai Wongsurawat & David Camino, 2019. "The determinants of leverage decisions: Evidence from Asian emerging markets," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1598836-159, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate debt ratio; policy rate; interest rate; inflation rate; international evidence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G33 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Bankruptcy; Liquidation

    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:mfa:journl:v:29:y:2021:i:1:p:1-16. 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: Capital Market Review (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.