Government debt and corporate leverage: International evidence

Irem Demirci, Jennifer Huang and Clemens Sialm

Journal of Financial Economics, 2019, vol. 133, issue 2, 337-356

Abstract: We empirically investigate the impact of government debt on corporate financing decisions in an international setting. We show a negative relation between government debt and corporate leverage using data on 40 countries between 1990–2014. This negative relation is stronger for government debt that is financed domestically, for firms that are larger and more profitable, and in countries with more developed equity markets. To address potential endogeneity concerns, we use an instrumental variable approach based on military spending and a quasi-natural experiment based on the introduction of the Euro currency. Our findings suggest that government debt crowds out corporate debt.

Keywords: Government debt; Capital structure; Crowding out (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E44 E50 G11 G32 G38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (60)

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Working Paper: Government Debt and Corporate Leverage: International Evidence (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:133:y:2019:i:2:p:337-356

DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2019.03.009

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