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Investment Patterns and Financial Leverage

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  • Michael S. Long
  • Ileen B. Malitz

Abstract

This study Investigates the influence of the type of investment opportunities facing a firm on its choice of capital structure. It is shown that the more discretionary investment opportunities a firm faces,the lower its financial leverage. Inclusion of other possible determinants of capital structure, such as availability of internal funds, tax effects and risk, while significant, do not affect the importance of discretionary investment. The evidence supports (1) the existence of a moral bazzard problem which inversely relates risky debt and discretionary investment choice, and (2) a desire by most firms to use sources of internal funds prior to entering the capital market.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael S. Long & Ileen B. Malitz, 1983. "Investment Patterns and Financial Leverage," NBER Working Papers 1145, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:1145
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Hamada, Robert S, 1972. "The Effect of the Firm's Capital Structure on the Systematic Risk of Common Stocks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 27(2), pages 435-452, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bruce Burton, 2010. "Corporate collaborative activity: exploratory evidence on the determinants of vehicle choice," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(3), pages 201-225.
    2. Khalifa, Mariem & Trabelsi, Samir & Matoussi, Hamadi, 2022. "Leverage, R&D expenditures, and accounting conservatism: Evidence from technology firms," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 285-304.
    3. B. M. Burton & D. M. Power, 2003. "Evidence on the determinants of equity issue method in the UK," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(2), pages 145-157.
    4. Evaldo Guimarães Barbosa & Cristiana De Castro Moraes, 2003. "Determinants Of The Firm’S Capital Structure - The Case Of The Very Small Enterprises," Finance 0302001, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 06 Oct 2003.
    5. Martinsson, Gustav, 2009. "Finance and R&D Investments - is there a debt overhang effect on R&D investments?," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 174, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    6. Stijn Claessens & Luc Laeven, 2003. "Financial Development, Property Rights, and Growth," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(6), pages 2401-2436, December.
    7. Annalisa Ferrando & Carsten Preuss, 2018. "What finance for what investment? Survey-based evidence for European companies," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 35(3), pages 1015-1053, December.
    8. Anderson, Michael H. & Prezas, Alexandros P., 1999. "Intangible investment, debt financing and managerial incentives," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 3-19, January.
    9. K. S. Sujit & B. K. Rajesh, 2016. "Determinants of Discretionary Investments," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(1), pages 21582440166, March.
    10. E. Guo & O. Suliman, 2010. "Corporate operating characteristics and capital structure: causality testing in heterogeneous panel data," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(24), pages 1901-1922.
    11. Bruce Burton, 2003. "Evidence on the extent of relationships among investment opportunity set proxies," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(7), pages 437-441.
    12. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Bruce Burton, 2005. "Concurrent capital expenditure and the stock market reaction to corporate alliance announcements," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(10), pages 715-729.
    14. Ferrando, Annalisa & Preuss, Carsten, 2018. "What finance for what investment? Survey-based evidence for European companies," EIB Working Papers 2018/01, European Investment Bank (EIB).

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