Management controls the issuing and repurchasing of securities, but they have no direct control over leverage changes stemming from changes in stock price or from profits and losses. By separating managed from unmanaged changes in leverage ratios, we draw three basic conclusions: 1) management...

In 1975 I co-authored a paper that documented the influence of industry on corporate capital structure with my colleague Dave Scott. By current standards our study was based on an exceedingly small sample and an unsophisticated research design. However, at the time the paper helped solidify the...