求償權順位對公司融資結構影響之跨國研究

Abstract

近年來公司融資結構方面的研究有兩大方向，一為將融資工具做一更細微的劃分並探討影響因素，另一為討論整體投資環境如法令、稅務、資本市場等對公司融資選擇之影響。本篇論文即在研究公司對於使用現金流量性質相近但求償權順位相異之資本租賃、公司債以及特別股之融資決策是否符合融資結構及制度性因子之理論預期。本研究觀察自1992至2003年間，開發中及已開發國家共30國內5743家公司之資料。實證結果支持資訊不對稱、資訊揭露成本以及租稅成本假說，但財務危機成本以及代理成本假說則未有一致的結果。研究結果並發現各國之公司融資結構有顯著差異，法令對於債權人權利之保護越強，則求償權順位高之融資工具使用減少，顯示兩者間有替代效果存在；而股東權益之保護與資本租賃及特別股之使用呈正向關係；金融機構以及資本市場的發展對於資本租賃以及特別股之發行有兩極的效果，有待未來研究進一步瞭解。

This study examines the priority structure across a sample of 5743 firms from 30 developed and developing countries for the period from 1992 to 2003 with a two stage procedure. I analyze the variation in the use of capitalized leases, debt and preferred stock as a fraction of the firm’s market value and as a fraction of total fixed claims. Institutional factors including the development of legal and financial systems are taken into consideration. The evidence provides substantial support for information asymmetry, cost of information and tax hypotheses. Financial distress hypothesis is weakly supported and little evidence supports agency cost hypotheses. It is also found that country factors do affect priority structure. Substitution effect between legal protection for creditor rights and priority structure is observed and the development of financial system appears to influence financing choices of firms. Development of financial intermediaries encourages the use of capitalized leases while the development of stock market discourages the use of preferred stock. The interaction between institutional factors and priority structure requires further study.