IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wiw/wiwrsa/ersa13p498.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Are Regional Institutional Factors Determinants Of The Capital Structure Of Smes?

Author

Listed:
  • MariaJosé Palacin-Sanchez
  • Filippo di Pietro

Abstract

This paper analyses the role that institutional factors play in explaining differences in the capital structure of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across regions belonging to a single country. Specifically, it studies the effect of the development of the financial sector and of the economic situation on leverage of firms. Furthermore, the standard firm-factor determinants of debt, such as firm size, asset structure, profitability, growth, business risk and age are also incorporated. For this empirical study, we use a sample of 638 SMEs representing every Spanish region for the period 1999-2007, and apply the panel data methodology. This study makes several contributions towards research on capital structure. First, it is one of the first studies worldwide to show the influence of regional institutional factors on capital structure decisions for small and medium-sized firms. Previous single-country studies have only considered firm factors, and have failed to consider institutional factors. There is only one study of this nature covering a European country (the work of La Rocca et al. 2010, in Italy). Second, the choice of Spain as the country under study also adds value to this research in several ways. On the one hand, SMEs are unquestionably the leading actors in Spanish business. On the other hand, Spain exhibits certain regional heterogeneity. Our results suggest that the capital structure depends on the regional financial sector and the regional economic situation which implies that institutional factors at regional level help to better explain financing decisions of SMEs. These results are highly significant and should help policymakers understand the institutional origin of these regional differences and aid in their elimination. It makes no sense for these differences to persist within a single country when working at a European level towards the convergence of SMEs by improving, among other aspects, access to finance.

Suggested Citation

  • MariaJosé Palacin-Sanchez & Filippo di Pietro, 2013. "Are Regional Institutional Factors Determinants Of The Capital Structure Of Smes?," ERSA conference papers ersa13p498, European Regional Science Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa13p498
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www-sre.wu.ac.at/ersa/ersaconfs/ersa13/ERSA2013_paper_00498.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hans Degryse & Peter Goeij & Peter Kappert, 2012. "The impact of firm and industry characteristics on small firms’ capital structure," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 431-447, May.
    2. Graham C. Hall & Patrick J. Hutchinson & Nicos Michaelas, 2004. "Determinants of the Capital Structures of European SMEs," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5‐6), pages 711-728, June.
    3. Maria Psillaki & Nikolaos Daskalakis, 2009. "Are the determinants of capital structure country or firm specific?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 319-333, October.
    4. Santiago Carbó-Valverde & Francisco Rodríguez-Fernández & Gregory F. Udell, 2009. "Bank Market Power and SME Financing Constraints," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 13(2), pages 309-340.
    5. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2009. "Does Local Financial Development Matter?," Springer Books, in: Damiano Bruno Silipo (ed.), The Banks and the Italian Economy, chapter 0, pages 31-66, Springer.
    6. Mitchell A. Petersen & Raghuram G. Rajan, 1995. "The Effect of Credit Market Competition on Lending Relationships," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 407-443.
    7. Francisco Sogorb-Mira, 2005. "How SME Uniqueness Affects Capital Structure: Evidence From A 1994–1998 Spanish Data Panel," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 447-457, December.
    8. de Jong, Abe & Kabir, Rezaul & Nguyen, Thuy Thu, 2008. "Capital structure around the world: The roles of firm- and country-specific determinants," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(9), pages 1954-1969, September.
    9. 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.
    10. María Palacín-Sánchez & Luis Ramírez-Herrera & Filippo di Pietro, 2013. "Capital structure of SMEs in Spanish regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 503-519, August.
    11. Degryse, H.A. & de Goeij, P. C. & Kappert, P., 2009. "The Impact of Firm and Industry Characteristics on Small Firms' Capital Structure : Evidence from Dutch Panel Data," Other publications TiSEM 7a625fbf-ee1b-41f9-a8c1-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    12. Douglas W. Diamond, 1984. "Financial Intermediation and Delegated Monitoring," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 51(3), pages 393-414.
    13. Laurence Booth & Varouj Aivazian & Asli Demirguc‐Kunt & Vojislav Maksimovic, 2001. "Capital Structures in Developing Countries," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 87-130, February.
    14. Mitchell A. Petersen & Raghuram G. Rajan, 2002. "Does Distance Still Matter? The Information Revolution in Small Business Lending," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2533-2570, December.
    15. Michaelas, Nicos & Chittenden, Francis & Poutziouris, Panikkos, 1999. "Financial Policy and Capital Structure Choice in U.K. SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Company Panel Data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 113-130, March.
    16. 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.
    17. 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.
    18. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:2107-2137 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Giannetti, Mariassunta, 2003. "Do Better Institutions Mitigate Agency Problems? Evidence from Corporate Finance Choices," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 38(1), pages 185-212, March.
    20. Graham C. Hall & Patrick J. Hutchinson & Nicos Michaelas, 2004. "Determinants of the Capital Structures of European SMEs," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5-6), pages 711-728.
    21. van der Wijst, Nico & Thurik, Roy, 1993. "Determinants of Small Firm Debt Ratios: An Analysis of Retail Panel Data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 55-65, March.
    22. Demirguc-Kunt, Asli & Maksimovic, Vojislav, 1999. "Institutions, financial markets, and firm debt maturity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 295-336, December.
    23. Wald, John K. & Long, Michael S., 2007. "The effect of state laws on capital structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 297-319, February.
    24. Santiago Carbo Valverdie & David Humphrey & Francisco Rodriguez Fernandez, 2003. "Deregulation, Bank Competition and Regional Growth," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(3), pages 227-237.
    25. Kirch, Guilherme & Terra, Paulo Renato Soares, 2012. "Determinants of corporate debt maturity in South America: Do institutional quality and financial development matter?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 980-993.
    26. Erik Lehmann & Doris Neuberger & Solvig R”thke, 2004. "Lending to Small and Medium-Sized Firms: Is There an East-West Gap in Germany?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 23-39, August.
    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. Nicolas Griesshaber, 2017. "Towards a more comprehensive understanding of corporate leverage ratios," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Uses of central balance sheet data offices' information, volume 45, Bank for International Settlements.

    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. María Palacín-Sánchez & Luis Ramírez-Herrera & Filippo di Pietro, 2013. "Capital structure of SMEs in Spanish regions," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 503-519, August.
    2. Filippo di Pietro & Maria Elena Bontempi & María-José Palacín-Sánchez & Reyes Samaniego-Medina, 2019. "Capital Structure across Italian Regions: The Role of Financial and Economic Differences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-14, August.
    3. Di Pietro, Filippo & Palacín Sánchez, María José & Roldán, José L., 2017. "Regional development and capital structure of SMEs," Cuadernos de Gestión, Universidad del País Vasco - Instituto de Economía Aplicada a la Empresa (IEAE).
    4. Mc Namara, Andrea & Murro, Pierluigi & O'Donohoe, Sheila, 2017. "Countries lending infrastructure and capital structure determination: The case of European SMEs," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 122-138.
    5. Matias, Fernanda & Serrasqueiro, Zélia, 2017. "Are there reliable determinant factors of capital structure decisions? Empirical study of SMEs in different regions of Portugal," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 19-33.
    6. Rana El Bahsh & Ali Alattar & Aziz N. Yusuf, 2018. "Firm, Industry and Country Level Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Jordan," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(2), pages 175-190.
    7. Martinez Cillero, Maria & Lawless, Martina & O'Toole, Conor, 2019. "The determinants of SME capital structure across the lifecycle," Papers WP614, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    8. Nicolas Griesshaber, 2017. "Towards a more comprehensive understanding of corporate leverage ratios," IFC Bulletins chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Uses of central balance sheet data offices' information, volume 45, Bank for International Settlements.
    9. Yarong Chen & Luca Sensini & Maria Vazquez, 2021. "Determinants of Leverage in Emerging Markets: Empirical Evidence," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 11(2), pages 40-46.
    10. Maurizio La Rocca & Tiziana La Rocca & Alfio Cariola, 2011. "Capital Structure Decisions During a Firm's Life Cycle," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 37(1), pages 107-130, July.
    11. Casino-Martínez, Alejandro & López-Gracia, Jose & Mestre-Barberá, Reyes, 2023. "The regulatory environment and financial constraints of private firms in the European Union," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    12. Karin Jõeveer, 2013. "What do we know about the capital structure of small firms?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 479-501, August.
    13. Apostolos Dasilas & Nicolas Papasyriopoulos, 2015. "Corporate governance, credit ratings and the capital structure of Greek SME and large listed firms," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 215-244, June.
    14. Alves, Paulo & Francisco, Paulo, 2015. "The impact of institutional environment on the capital structure of firms during recent financial crises," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 129-146.
    15. Antonio D’Amato, 2020. "Capital structure, debt maturity, and financial crisis: empirical evidence from SMEs," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(4), pages 919-941, December.
    16. Lindner, Thomas & Muellner, Jakob & Puck, Jonas, 2016. "Cost of Capital in an International Context: Institutional Distance, Quality, and Dynamics," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 234-248.
    17. Pinto, João M. & Silva, Cátia S., 2021. "Does export intensity affect corporate leverage? Evidence from Portuguese SMEs," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    18. Jõeveer, Karin, 2013. "Firm, country and macroeconomic determinants of capital structure: Evidence from transition economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 294-308.
    19. Basha, Shabeen Afsar & Bennasr, Hamdi & Goaied, Mohamed, 2023. "Financial literacy, financial development, and leverage of small firms," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    20. Usman Shettima & Nazam Dzolkarnaini, 2024. "Deposit‐borrowing substitutability: Evidence from microfinance institutions around the world," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 3326-3343, July.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    capital structure; SME; regional financial sector;
    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
    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
    • R50 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - General

    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:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa13p498. 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: Gunther Maier (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ersa.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.