We show that firms can design their capital structure to provide a publicly observable indication of compliance with a collusive agreement. We develop two empirically testable hypotheses based on this argument and test these propositions on data for seven integrated mill steel firms. Our study...

Some of the authors of empirical bankruptcy studies have misinterpreted the "absolute priority rule" (APR) and erroneously concluded that at least some bankruptcy courts are failing to enforce the law. This paper clarifies the APR and explains why departures from it are permitted by the US...