We develop a dynamic investment options framework with optimal capital structure and analyze the effect of debt maturity. We find that in the absence of financing constraints short-term debt maximizes firm value. In contrast with most literature results, in the absence of constraints, higher...

This paper investigates whether the market level of information asymmetry affects firms’ debt financing decisions. Using a sample of non-financial listed firms and a composite index based on microstructure measures of information asymmetry, we find that firms with more information asymmetry...

This paper tests how collateral value affects a firm's choice between bank debt and public debt by considering the exogenous variation in the market value of a firm's real estate assets caused by fluctuations in local real estate prices. Using local land supply elasticities as an instrument for...

We analyze the relation between different forms of debt financing at the firm's start-up and subsequent firm outcomes. We distinguish between business debt, obtained in the name of the firm, and personal debt, obtained in the name of the firm's owner and used to finance the start-up firm....

We find that US public firms spread out their debt more across different sources in recession quarters, making measures of debt concentration move pro-cyclically, on average. There is substantial cross-sectional variation in these dynamics. In particular, firms with already low leverage and high...

Using a novel hand-collected dataset of business combination disclosures, we investigate whether and how fair-value adjustments (FVAs) arising from mergers and acquisitions facilitate debt financing. FVAs are the difference between the fair value and the book value of the target's net assets. We...

In July 2013, Moody's unexpectedly increased the amount of equity credit that speculative-grade firms receive for preferred stock from 50% to 100%. Firms affected by the rule change were suddenly considered less levered by Moody's even though their balance sheets did not change. These firms...

A recent dramatic rise in the assets managed by passive corporate debt funds has profound implications for firm financing and payout policy. I use fund-specific flows to isolate exogenous increases in firm-level passive debt ownership at a firm. Firms respond to higher levels of passive debt...

We study the leverage of U.S. firms over their life cycles and the connection between firm leverage, firm growth, and aggregate shocks. We construct a new dataset that combines private and public firms’ balance sheets with firm-level data from U.S. Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Business...