IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cpr/ceprdp/4161.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

How Do Legal Differences and Learning Affect Financial Contracts?

Author

Listed:
  • Kaplan, Steven
  • Strömberg, Per
  • Martel, Frederic

Abstract

We analyse venture capital (VC) investments in 23 non-US countries and compare them to VC investments in the US. We describe how the contracts allocate cash flow, board, liquidation, and other control rights. In univariate analyses, contracts differ across legal regimes. At the same time, however, more experienced VCs implement US-style contracts regardless of legal regime. In most specifications, legal regime becomes insignificant controlling for VC sophistication. VCs who use US-style contracts fail significantly less often. Financial contracting theories in the presence of fixed costs of learning, therefore, appear to explain contracts along a wide range of legal regimes.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaplan, Steven & Strömberg, Per & Martel, Frederic, 2003. "How Do Legal Differences and Learning Affect Financial Contracts?," CEPR Discussion Papers 4161, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:4161
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://cepr.org/publications/DP4161
    Download Restriction: CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Black, Bernard S. & Gilson, Ronald J., 1998. "Venture capital and the structure of capital markets: banks versus stock markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 243-277, March.
    2. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Agency Problems and Residual Claims," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 327-349, June.
    3. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 2000. "Investor protection and corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 3-27.
    4. Kaplan, Steven & Strömberg, Per, 2002. "Characteristics, Contracts and Actions: Evidence from Venture Capitalist Analyses," CEPR Discussion Papers 3243, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Default and Renegotiation: A Dynamic Model of Debt," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(1), pages 1-41.
    6. Keuschnigg, Christian & Nielsen, Soren Bo, 2004. "Start-ups, venture capitalists, and the capital gains tax," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(5), pages 1011-1042, April.
    7. Robert G. King & Ross Levine, 1993. "Finance and Growth: Schumpeter Might Be Right," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 717-737.
    8. La Porta, Rafael & Florencio Lopez-de-Silanes & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1997. "Legal Determinants of External Finance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1131-1150, July.
    9. Simeon Djankov & Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez-de-Silane & Andrei Shleifer, 2002. "Courts: the Lex Mundi Project," NBER Working Papers 8890, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Rajan, Raghuram G & Zingales, Luigi, 1998. "Financial Dependence and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 559-586, June.
    11. Jeng, Leslie A. & Wells, Philippe C., 2000. "The determinants of venture capital funding: evidence across countries," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 241-289, September.
    12. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Strömberg, 2003. "Financial Contracting Theory Meets the Real World: An Empirical Analysis of Venture Capital Contracts," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 281-315.
    13. 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.
    14. Gilles Chemla & Michel A. Habib & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2007. "An Analysis of Shareholder Agreements," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 93-121, March.
    15. Bascha, Andreas & Walz, Uwe, 2002. "Financing practices in the German venture capital industry: An empirical assessment," CFS Working Paper Series 2002/08, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    16. Steven N. Kaplan & Per Stromberg, 2001. "Venture Capitalists As Principals: Contracting, Screening, and Monitoring," NBER Working Papers 8202, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Rafael La Porta & Florencio Lopez‐De‐Silanes & Andrei Shleifer, 1999. "Corporate Ownership Around the World," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(2), pages 471-517, April.
    18. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson, 2005. "Unbundling Institutions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(5), pages 949-995, October.
    19. Oliver Hart, 2001. "Financial Contracting," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 39(4), pages 1079-1100, December.
    20. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:2107-2137 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Mayer, Colin & Schoors, Koen & Yafeh, Yishay, 2001. "Sources of Funds and Investment Strategies of Venture Capital Funds: Evidence from Germany, Israel, Japan and the UK," CEI Working Paper Series 2001-24, Center for Economic Institutions, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    22. Philippe Aghion & Patrick Bolton, 1992. "An Incomplete Contracts Approach to Financial Contracting," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(3), pages 473-494.
    23. Sahlman, William A., 1990. "The structure and governance of venture-capital organizations," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 473-521, October.
    24. Steven Kaplan & Antoinette Schoar, 2003. "Private Equity Performance: Returns, Persistence and Capital," NBER Working Papers 9807, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Mathias Dewatripont & Jean Tirole, 1994. "A Theory of Debt and Equity: Diversity of Securities and Manager-Shareholder Congruence," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(4), pages 1027-1054.
    26. Ulrich Hege, 2006. "Determinants of Venture Capital Performance: Europe and the United States," Post-Print halshs-00121072, HAL.
    27. Bushman, Robert M. & Smith, Abbie J., 2001. "Financial accounting information and corporate governance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 237-333, December.
    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. Uwe Walz & Carsten Bienz, 2006. "Evolution of Decision and Control Rights in Venture Capital Contracts: An Empirical Analysis," FMG Discussion Papers dp585, Financial Markets Group.
    2. L. Bottazzi & M. Da Rin & T. Hellmann, 2007. "The Importance of Trust for Investment: Evidence from Venture Capital," Working Papers 612, Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Universita' di Bologna.
    3. Bottazzi, Laura & Da Rin, Marco & Hellmann, Thomas, 2009. "What is the role of legal systems in financial intermediation? Theory and evidence," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 559-598, October.
    4. Lerner, Josh & Schoar, Antoinette, 2004. "Transaction Structures in the Developing World: Evidence from Private Equity," Working papers 4468-04, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    5. Jun Qian & Philip E. Strahan, 2007. "How Laws and Institutions Shape Financial Contracts: The Case of Bank Loans," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(6), pages 2803-2834, December.
    6. Josh Lerner & Antoinette Schoar, 2004. "Transaction Structures in the Developing World," NBER Working Papers 10348, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Cumming, Douglas J., 2005. "Capital structure in venture finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 550-585, June.
    8. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2006. "The legislative road to Silicon Valley," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(4), pages 596-635, October.
    9. James A. Brander & Edward Egan & Thomas F. Hellmann, 2010. "Government Sponsored versus Private Venture Capital: Canadian Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: International Differences in Entrepreneurship, pages 275-320, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Sophie Manigart & Andy Lockett & Miguel Meuleman & Mike Wright & Hans Landström & Hans Bruining & Philippe Desbrières & Ulrich Hommel, 2006. "Venture Capitalists’ Decision to Syndicate," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(2), pages 131-153, March.
    11. Annaleena Parhankangas & Hans Landström & D. Gordon Smith, 2005. "Experience, contractual covenants and venture capitalists' responses to unmet expectations," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(4), pages 297-318, March.
    12. Douglas Cumming, 2005. "Review Essay: Global Venture Capital Transactions," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 185-201, January.
    13. Thomas Hall, 2015. "Firm Boundaries and Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Entrepreneurial Finance," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(05), pages 1-33.
    14. Dessi, Roberta, 2011. "Innovation, Spillovers and Venture Capital Contracts," IDEI Working Papers 684, Institut d'Économie Industrielle (IDEI), Toulouse, revised Dec 2013.
    15. Bottazzi, Laura & Da Rin, Marco & Hellmann, Thomas, 2008. "Who are the active investors?: Evidence from venture capital," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 488-512, September.
    16. Carsten Bienz & Julia Hirsch, 2011. "The Dynamics of Venture Capital Contracts," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 16(1), pages 157-195.
    17. Tykvová, Tereza & Schertler, Andrea, 2014. "Does Syndication With Local Venture Capitalists Moderate the Effects of Geographical and Institutional Distance?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 406-420.
    18. S. Manigart & A. Lockett & M. Meuleman & M. Wright & H. Landström & H. Bruining & P. Desbrières & U. Hommel, 2004. "Why Do Venture Capital Companies Syndicate?," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 04/226, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    19. Vladimir Atanasov & Thomas Hall & Vladimir Ivanov & Katherine Litvak, 2019. "The Impact of Public Pension Funds and Other Limited Partners on the Governance of Venture Capital Funds," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(01), pages 1-28, March.
    20. Mico Apostolov, 2011. "Governance and Enterprise Restructuring: The Case of Macedonia," Transition Studies Review, Springer;Central Eastern European University Network (CEEUN), vol. 18(2), pages 299-309, December.
    21. Schertler, Andrea & Tykvová, Tereza, 2006. "Rivals or partners? Evidence from Europe's international private equity deals," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-091, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    22. Santillán-Salgado, Roberto J. & Hernández-Perales, Norma A., 2011. "Generalidades sobre los Fondos de Capital Privado y de Capital Emprendedor: una visión actualizada de la industria y de su entorno en México [Generalities on Private Equity and Venture Capital Fund," MPRA Paper 27815, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Salim Chahine & Igor Filatotchev & Mike Wright, 2007. "Venture Capitalists, Business Angels, and Performance of Entrepreneurial IPOs in the UK and France," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3-4), pages 505-528.
    24. Alessandro Rosiello & Gil Avnimelech & Morris Teubal, 2011. "Towards a systemic and evolutionary framework for venture capital policy," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 167-189, February.
    25. Thomas Ahrens & Igor Filatotchev & Steen Thomsen, 2011. "The research frontier in corporate governance," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 15(3), pages 311-325, August.

    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. Kaplan, Steven N. & Martel, Frederic & Stromberg, Per, 2007. "How do legal differences and experience affect financial contracts?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 273-311, July.
    2. Cumming, Douglas J., 2005. "Capital structure in venture finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 550-585, June.
    3. Alessandra Bonfiglioli, 2004. "Equities and Inequality," 2004 Meeting Papers 256, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2004. "The Legal Road To Replicating Silicon Valley," Working Papers wp281, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    5. John Armour & Douglas Cumming, 2006. "The legislative road to Silicon Valley," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 58(4), pages 596-635, October.
    6. Denis, David J., 2004. "Entrepreneurial finance: an overview of the issues and evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 301-326, March.
    7. Bushman, Robert M. & Smith, Abbie J., 2001. "Financial accounting information and corporate governance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 237-333, December.
    8. Uwe Walz & Carsten Bienz, 2006. "Evolution of Decision and Control Rights in Venture Capital Contracts: An Empirical Analysis," FMG Discussion Papers dp585, Financial Markets Group.
    9. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2007. "Advice and monitoring in venture finance," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 21(1), pages 3-43, March.
    10. Bottazzi, Laura & Da Rin, Marco & Hellmann, Thomas, 2009. "What is the role of legal systems in financial intermediation? Theory and evidence," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 559-598, October.
    11. Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan, 2006. "Provincial preferences in private equity," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 20(4), pages 369-398, December.
    12. Cumming, D. & Johan, S.A., 2005. "Is it the law or the lawyers? Investment fund covenants," Discussion Paper 2005-005, Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economic Center.
    13. Luigi Zingales & Raghuram G. Rajan, 2003. "Banks and Markets: The Changing Character of European Finance," NBER Working Papers 9595, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Allen, Franklin & Chakrabarti, Rajesh & De, Sankar & Qian, Jun “QJ” & Qian, Meijun, 2012. "Financing firms in India," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 409-445.
    15. Hellmann, Thomas, 2006. "IPOs, acquisitions, and the use of convertible securities in venture capital," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 649-679, September.
    16. Cumming, Douglas & Johan, Sofia, 2007. "Regulatory harmonization and the development of private equity markets," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(10), pages 3218-3250, October.
    17. Marianna Succurro, 2008. "Bankruptcy Systems And Economic Performance Across Contries: Some Empirical Evidence," Working Papers 200801, Università della Calabria, Dipartimento di Economia, Statistica e Finanza "Giovanni Anania" - DESF.
    18. Cumming, Douglas & Schmidt, Daniel & Walz, Uwe, 2004. "Legality and venture governance around the world," CFS Working Paper Series 2004/17, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    19. Knack, Steve & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2017. "Unbundling institutions for external finance: Worldwide firm-level evidence," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 215-232.
    20. Demougin, Dominique M. & Fabel, Oliver, 2006. "The division of ownership in new ventures," SFB 649 Discussion Papers 2006-047, Humboldt University Berlin, Collaborative Research Center 649: Economic Risk.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Investment banking; Venture capital; Brokerage; Financing policy; Capital and owner ship structure;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:cpr:ceprdp:4161. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cepr.org .

    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.