资本结构选择的决定因素外文翻译.doc

外文翻译 原文 The Determinants of Capital Structure Choice Material Source: /bbs/thread-83698-1-1.html Author: Sheridan Titman and Roberto Wessels I. Determinants of Capital Structure In this section, we present a brief discussion of the attributes that different theories of capital structure suggest may affect the firms debt-equity choice. These attributes are denoted asset structure, non-debt tax shields, growth, uniqueness, industry classification, size, earnings volatility, and profitability. The attributes, their relation to the optimal capital structure choice, and their observable indicators are discussed below. A. Collateral Value of Assets Most capital structure theories argue that the type of assets owned by a firm in some way affects its capital structure choice. Scott [33] suggests that, by selling secured debt, firms increase the value of their equity by expropriating wealth from their existing unsecuredcreditors.3Argumentsput forth by Myers and Majluf [28] also suggest that firms may find it advantageous to sell secured debt. Their model demonstrates that there may be costs associated with issuing securities about which the firms managers have better information than outside shareholders. Issuing debt secured by property with known values avoids these costs. For this reason, firms with assets that can be used as collateral may be expected to issue more debt to take advantage of this opportunity. Work by Galai and Masulis[16],Jensen and Meckling[20],and Myers[26] Suggests that stockholders of leveraged firms have an incentive to invest suboptimally to expropriate wealth from the firms bondholders. This incentive may also induce a positive relation between debt ratios and the capacity of firms to Collateralize their debt. If the debt can be collateralized, the borrower is restricted to use the funds for a specified project. Since no such guarantee can be used for projects that cannot be collateralized, creditors may require more favorable terms, which in turn