The Cyclical Behavior of Debt and Equity Finance
American Economic Review
vol. 101,
no. 2, April 2011
(pp. 877-99)
Abstract
Debt and equity issuance are procyclical for most size-sorted firm categories of listed US firms and the procyclicality of equity issuance decreases monotonically with firm size. At the aggregate level, however, the results for equity issuance are not conclusive due to different behavior of the largest firms, especially those in the top one percent. During a deterioration in economic conditions, firms limit the impact of the reduction in external financing on investment by shedding financial assets. This is true for a worsening in aggregate as well as firm-specific conditions. (JEL E32, G32, L11, L25)Citation
Covas, Francisco, and Wouter J. Den Haan. 2011. "The Cyclical Behavior of Debt and Equity Finance." American Economic Review, 101 (2): 877-99. DOI: 10.1257/aer.101.2.877Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
- G32 Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure
- L11 Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
- L25 Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope