Using the Business Longitudinal Database compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, we examine the level and determinants of agency costs in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on the impact of family ownership and the variation in agency costs associated...

There is continuing uncertainty about whether family firms have lower agency costs. This paper proposes that a combination of family ownership and altruism affects agency costs in family firms. To begin with, family ownership can reduce agency costs through better aligning the interests of...

Using a sample of hi-tech Chinese small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), we compare financing costs for family and nonfamily firms. We find that family SMEs enjoy relatively lower average financing costs through mitigating agency problems, the provision of greater collateral, and the reliance...