IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hhs/gunwpe/0183.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Property Rights, Risk and Leverage

Author

Listed:
  • Graff, Richard A.

    (Electrum Partners L.L.C.)

  • Kairys, Jr. Joseph P.

    (Department of Economics, School of Economics and Commercial Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

Risk matters when corporate debt has a positive probability of default. Lenders have traditionally used covenants to protect their property rights because the financing and operating decisions of firms can reduce the value of the firm’s outstanding debt. We examine the use of captive finance subsidiaries and special purposed entities (SPEs) to partition default risk within the firm. A more complex arrangement of property rights within the firm allows the parent firm to retain operating flexibility while offering lenders better protection. We conclude that capital structure is a relevant decision variable for corporate managers because firms are able to obtain leveraged finance at a lower cost when risk is partitioned using separate legal structures within the firm.

Suggested Citation

  • Graff, Richard A. & Kairys, Jr. Joseph P., 2005. "Property Rights, Risk and Leverage," Working Papers in Economics 183, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0183
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/2711
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ronald H. Coase, 2008. "The Institutional Structure of Production," Springer Books, in: Claude Ménard & Mary M. Shirley (ed.), Handbook of New Institutional Economics, chapter 2, pages 31-39, Springer.
    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. Kim, E Han & McConnell, John J & Greenwood, Paul R, 1977. "Capital Structure Rearrangements and Me-First Rules in an Efficient Capital Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(3), pages 789-809, June.
    5. Black, Fischer & Cox, John C, 1976. "Valuing Corporate Securities: Some Effects of Bond Indenture Provisions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 31(2), pages 351-367, May.
    6. repec:bla:jfinan:v:44:y:1989:i:4:p:1039-47 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    8. Robert C. Merton, 2005. "Theory of rational option pricing," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Sudipto Bhattacharya & George M Constantinides (ed.), Theory Of Valuation, chapter 8, pages 229-288, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    9. Gary B. Gorton & Nicholas S. Souleles, 2007. "Special Purpose Vehicles and Securitization," NBER Chapters, in: The Risks of Financial Institutions, pages 549-597, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Paul Asquith & Robert Gertner & David Scharfstein, 1994. "Anatomy of Financial Distress: An Examination of Junk-Bond Issuers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(3), pages 625-658.
    11. R. H. Coase, 2013. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 837-877.
    12. Chan, Yuk-Shee & Thakor, Anjan V, 1987. "Collateral and Competitive Equilibria with Moral Hazard and Private Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(2), pages 345-363, June.
    13. Merton, Robert C, 1974. "On the Pricing of Corporate Debt: The Risk Structure of Interest Rates," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 29(2), pages 449-470, May.
    14. Leland, Hayne E & Pyle, David H, 1977. "Informational Asymmetries, Financial Structure, and Financial Intermediation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 371-387, May.
    15. Fama, Eugene F, 1978. "The Effects of a Firm's Investment and Financing Decisions on the Welfare of Its Security Holders," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 68(3), pages 272-284, June.
    16. John, Kose & Nachman, David C, 1985. "Risky Debt, Investment Incentives, and Reputation in a Sequential Equilibrium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(3), pages 863-878, July.
    17. Graff, Richard A. & Kairys Jr., Joseph P., 2005. "Property Rights and Corporate Finance," Working Papers in Economics 174, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    18. Rajan, Raghuram G, 1992. "Insiders and Outsiders: The Choice between Informed and Arm's-Length Debt," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1367-1400, September.
    19. Lillian F. Mills & Kaye J. Newberry, 2005. "Firms' Off‐Balance Sheet and Hybrid Debt Financing: Evidence from Their Book‐Tax Reporting Differences," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 251-282, May.
    20. Diamond, Douglas W, 1991. "Monitoring and Reputation: The Choice between Bank Loans and Directly Placed Debt," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 689-721, August.
    21. Diamond, Douglas W, 1989. "Reputation Acquisition in Debt Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 828-862, August.
    22. Gordon S. Roberts & Jerry A. Viscione, 1981. "Captive Finance Subsidiaries and the M-Form Hypothesis," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(1), pages 285-295, Spring.
    23. Sang Whi Lee & Donald J. Mullineaux, 2004. "Monitoring, Financial Distress, and the Structure of Commercial Lending Syndicates," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(3), Fall.
    24. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    25. Black, Fischer & Scholes, Myron S, 1973. "The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(3), pages 637-654, May-June.
    26. Dennis, Steven & Nandy, Debarshi & Sharpe, Lan G., 2000. "The Determinants of Contract Terms in Bank Revolving Credit Agreements," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 35(1), pages 87-110, March.
    27. Miller, Merton H, 1977. "Debt and Taxes," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 32(2), pages 261-275, May.
    28. Cheung, Steven N S, 1998. "The Transaction Costs Paradigm: 1998 Presidential Address, Western Economic Association," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 514-521, October.
    29. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    30. Rajan, Raghuram & Winton, Andrew, 1995. "Covenants and Collateral as Incentives to Monitor," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(4), pages 1113-1146, September.
    31. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    32. Smith, Clifford Jr. & Warner, Jerold B., 1979. "On financial contracting : An analysis of bond covenants," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 117-161, June.
    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. Curtiss, Jarmila, 2012. "Determinants of Financial Capital Use: Review of theories and implications for rural businesses," Factor Markets Working Papers 123, Centre for European Policy Studies.
    2. 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.
    3. Sanjiva Prasad & Christopher J. Green & Victor Murinde, 2001. "Company Financing, Captial Structure, and Ownership: A Survey, and Implications for Developing Economies," SUERF Studies, SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, number 12 edited by Morten Balling, May.
    4. Drobetz, Wolfgang & Pensa, Pascal & Wöhle, Claudia B., 2004. "Kapitalstrukturtheorie in Theorie und Praxis: Ergebnisse einer Fragebogenuntersuchung," Working papers 2004/09, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    5. Luc Renneboog & Peter G. Szilagyi, 2008. "Corporate Restructuring and Bondholder Wealth," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 14(4), pages 792-819, September.
    6. Hui Chen & Jianjun Miao & Neng Wang, 2010. "Entrepreneurial Finance and Nondiversifiable Risk," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(12), pages 4348-4388, December.
    7. Maclachlan, Iain C, 2007. "An empirical study of corporate bond pricing with unobserved capital structure dynamics," MPRA Paper 28416, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Murizah Osman Salleh & Aziz Jaafar & M. Shahid Ebrahim, 2011. "The Inhibition of Usury (Riba An-Nasi'ah) and the Economic Underdevelopment of the Muslim World," Working Papers 11002, Bangor Business School, Prifysgol Bangor University (Cymru / Wales).
    9. Paseda, Oluseun & Olowe, Rufus, 2018. "The Debt Maturity Structure of Nigerian Quoted Firms," MPRA Paper 117061, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 30 Jun 2018.
    10. D. E. Allen, 1991. "The Determinants of the Capital Structure of Listed Australian Companies: The Financial Manager's Perspective," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 16(2), pages 103-128, December.
    11. Cardone Riportella, Clara & Cazorla Papis, Leonardo, 2001. "New approaches to the analysis of the capital structure of SME's: empirical evidence from Spanish firms," DEE - Working Papers. Business Economics. WB wb011003, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Departamento de Economía de la Empresa.
    12. Nengjiu Ju & Robert Parrino & Allen M. Poteshman & Michael S. Weisbach, 2002. "Horses and Rabbits? Optimal Dynamic Capital Structure from Shareholder and Manager Perspectives," NBER Working Papers 9327, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Marian Rizov, 2008. "Corporate Capital Structure And How Soft Budget Constraints May Affect It," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(4), pages 648-684, September.
    14. Szilagyi, P.G., 2007. "Corporate governance and the agency costs of debt and outside equity," Other publications TiSEM 9520d40a-224f-43a8-9bf9-b, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    15. A. Bozkaya & B. Van Pottelsberghe De La Potterie, 2008. "Who Funds Technology-Based Small Firms? Evidence From Belgium," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(1-2), pages 97-122.
    16. Martellini, Lionel & Milhau, Vincent & Tarelli, Andrea, 2018. "Capital structure decisions and the optimal design of corporate market debt prograams," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 141-167.
    17. Amarjit Gill & Craig Wilson, 2021. "Bank connections and small business performance: Evidence from Canadian survey data," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5110-5134, October.
    18. Andres, Christian & Cumming, Douglas & Karabiber, Timur & Schweizer, Denis, 2014. "Do markets anticipate capital structure decisions? — Feedback effects in equity liquidity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 133-156.
    19. Monda, Barbara & Giorgino, Marco & Modolin, Ileana, 2013. "Rationales for Corporate Risk Management - A Critical Literature Review," MPRA Paper 45420, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    capital structure; captive finance companies; structured finance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • 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:hhs:gunwpe:0183. 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: Jessica Oscarsson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/naiguse.html .

    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.