Human capital and the private equity premium

When capital market is imperfect, an entrepreneur has to invest substantial personal funds to start a firm and has to bear large firm-specific risk. Furthermore, if a typical entrepreneur is risk averse, private equity should earn a premium for idiosyncratic risk. In this paper I explore the interaction of human capital with the decision to become an entrepreneur. I calibrate a model of entrepreneurial choice to illustrate a significant attenuating effect of human capital on the premium for firm-specific risk. When an entrepreneur can quit the business and work for hire, the firm-specific risk premium is order of magnitude lower than without this option. While an entrepreneur puts at risk a substantial fraction of financial wealth, she does not commit all human capital to the current business. At stake is only the labor income forgone while managing the firm and the rest of human capital is unaffected by the business risk. Empirical evidence suggests that private equity does not earn any significant premium over publicly traded equity. The model with human capital is consistent with this observation, assuming typical entrepreneur forgoes a small expected return (1.5%) in lieu of intangible benefits of entrepreneurship.     

Preplanned exit strategies in venture capital

This paper empirically considers the role of preplanned exits (the investor's initial strategy to sell the investee firm via an acquisition or an initial public offering (IPO) at the time of initial contract with the entrepreneur), legal conditions and investor versus investee bargaining power in the allocation of cash flow and control rights in entrepreneurial finance. We introduce a sample of 223 entrepreneurial investee firms financed by 35 venture capital funds in 11 continental European countries, and these data indicate the following. First, preplanned acquisition exits are associated with stronger investor veto and control rights, a greater probability that convertible securities will be used, and a lower probability that common equity will be used; the converse is observed for preplanned IPOs. Second, investors take fewer control and veto rights and use common equity in countries of German legal origin, relative to Socialist, Scandinavian, and French legal origin. Third, more experienced entrepreneurs are more likely to get financed with common equity and less likely to be financed with convertible preferred equity, while more experienced investors are more likely to use convertible preferred equity and less likely to use common equity.     

Corporate tax avoidance and cost of equity capital: international evidence

ABSTRACT

This study examines the association between firm’s tax avoidance activities and cost of equity capital across 17 countries. Consistent with the prior study based on the U.S. evidence, within strong investor protection countries, the extent of firm’s tax avoidance is negatively associated with its cost of equity capital. This result indicates that strong investor protection induces investors to perceive firm’s tax avoidance activities as the results of efficient tax planning to reduce tax liabilities. To the contrary, we find that the extent of firm’s tax avoidance is positively associated with its cost of equity capital within weak investor protection countries. This result suggests that investors impose equity risk premium on firm’s tax avoidance activities in weak investor protection countries, where agency conflicts prevail more on firm’s tax avoidance activities. As the first international study on the association between firm’s tax avoidance activities and its cost of equity capital, this study contributes to the literature by suggesting that such an association may vary across countries depending on the strength of investor protection within each country of domicile.     

信息成本与企业家的融资决策

在项目的融资过程中,企业家可能面临两种选择:非市场融资与市场融资。尽管信息不对称是非市场融资的主要约束,但是市场融资可以改善彼此的信息结构。文章分析了企业家(内部人)与投资者(外部人)在不同信息结构下的不完全金融合同。分析后发现,投资者可以榨取的信息租与企业家的信息披露成本构成两种融资方式的主要融资成本;而项目所需的外部资本以及资本市场要求的回报率构成了企业家融资决策的决定性元素。事实上,若项目所需的外部资本越高,信息披露成本越低,市场融资要求的回报率越低和信息租越高,则企业家越有可能选择市场融资;反之,企业家可能选择非市场融资。此外,合谋与私人收益的存在也可能影响到企业家的融资决策。     

企业融资中的控制权安排与企业家的激励

在企业融资中,企业家不仅关心项目的货币收益,而且关心非货币收益,而投资者仅仅关心货币收益。考虑到双方的融资合同是不完全的且企业家受到财富约束,一份初始的激励合同通常无法解决双方存在的潜在利益冲突。作为一个结果,控制权安排(即谁做出关键性决策)是金融合同的一个重要维度。Aghion-Bolton(1992)集中于事后有效率。他们证明了,条件控制在一些环境下是均衡的控制权安排。然而,Hart(2001)提出了一个质疑:他们的模型忽略了一个重要的变量,即努力。通过引入企业家的事前努力,本文解释了为什么控制权在坏状态而不是在好状态转移给投资者。更进一步,本文发现,金融约束的程度大小决定了项目的均衡控制权安排。     

基于PSO算法的股权拍卖机制设计及仿真分析

运用PSO群体智能算法模拟信息交互条件下外部投资者报价决策的学习机制和演化规律,在此基础上设计了实现风险投资退出的股权拍卖机制。Netlog仿真结果表明,所设计的股权拍卖机制能在一定程度上揭示股权的真实价值,并降低竞买人和卖方之间的信息不对称程度。进一步的仿真分析结果表明:适当的激励力度对外部投资者的投标报价具有显著影响;引入更多的竞买人能产生更有利于风险投资家的拍卖结果;即使外部投资者过于强化单一的学习能力,最终也可得到相对理想的拍卖结果,从而证明了所设计的股权拍卖机制具有广泛的适用性。     

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND CAPITAL ACCUMULATION: FIRM-LEVEL EVIDENCE FROM ITALY

This study investigates the impact of investor protection on firm ownership and capital growth in a model where investor protection is allowed to vary between firms. Using panel data for Italy, we construct firm-level variables to capture the degree of investor protection, which is observable to all shareholders. Empirical evidence indicates that the stronger the investor protection the lower the fraction of equity that is owned by insiders. Results show that higher insider equity ownership is linked to larger risk premiums and higher costs of capital. Implications suggest that the magnitude of capital stock distortions is particularly important when shareholder protection is weak and ownership concentration is high.     

Incentives for firms to provide safety: Regulatory authority and capital market reactions

We investigate the relationship between the various incentives that firms have to act safely, focusing on the relationship between the equity losses experienced by a firm following a fatal, accident and the incentive effects created by government regulation. The major findings are that first, the capital market reactions vary dramatically by which agency has regulatory jurisdiction for the accident. And second, the capital market effects tend to be weak (equity values do not decline sizably) where federal agencies rely heavily on an ex ante inspection policy. On the other hand, where ex ante inspection policy is lax or nonexistent, capital market effects tend to be strong - up to an order of magnitude higher per fatality than willingness-to-pay estimates based on labor market data.     

Stage Financing and the Role of Convertible Securities

Venture capital financing is characterized by extensive use of convertible securities and stage financing. In a model where a venture capitalist provides staged financing for a project, we illustrate an advantage of convertible debt (or warrants) over a mixture of debt and equity. Essentially, when the venture capitalist retains the option to abandon the project, the entrepreneur has an incentive to engage in window dressing and bias positively the short-term performance of the project, reducing the probability that it will be liquidated. An appropriately designed convertible security prevents such behaviour because window dressing also increases the probability that the venture capitalist will exercise the conversion option becoming the owner of a substantial fraction of the project's equity.     

SUNK COSTS OF CAPITAL AND THE FORM OF ENTERPRISE: INVESTOR‐OWNED FIRMS AND WORKER‐OWNED FIRMS*

ABSTRACT ** : This paper examines implications of sunk costs of capital for efficient forms of enterprise. It is assumed that firm owners and outside traders are asymmetrically informed of venture risks, and that there are sunk costs associated with investment in physical and human capital. We then make an efficiency comparison between investor‐owned and worker‐owned firms. We find that the firm is efficient when it is owned by the input supplier (the investor or worker) who incurs large sunk costs. This is because such an input supplier can credibly signal to the other input supplier that he in fact has a safe project. An empirical study based on the Japanese manufacturing industry seems to support the theoretical result.     

信号发送、投资者识别与私募股权资本市场

基于金融市场上广泛存在的信息不对称,本文构造了信号发送和投资者识别能力的市场反应函数模型。分析发现,私募股权资本市场能够通过降低信息不对称程度,达到减少新项目潜在租金的消散、降低创业企业家的创业风险以及投资者能从与创业企业家的合作中分享租金的目的。本文的研究表明,私募股权资本市场是金融市场的重要组成部分,是经济发展的重要推动力。     

研发创新是股权激励与企业价值的桥梁吗？——基于中国创业板上市公司的实证分析

为探索研发创新在股权激励与企业价值作用过程中的桥梁作用,将股权激励、研发创新、企业价值纳入一个统一的分析框架,构建了股权激励通过研发创新作用于企业价值的中介效应模型,并运用2011—2014年中国颁布并已实施股权激励方案的创业板上市企业的数据进行检验。研究发现:股权激励对企业价值具有正向影响,部分是通过研发创新的中介作用来传导实现的,且这一影响存在时滞性,滞后效应显著期为2年;国有企业研发创新对股权激励与企业价值关系的中介效应没有非国有企业显著,国有企业需进一步明确国有企业产权,降低国有比例,明晰资本的产权,优化公司治理结构,提高公司治理效率,促进企业长远发展。     

股权结构对买卖价差的影响研究

本文从市场微观结构层面研究了买卖价差和股权结构之间的关系,引入股权激励和B、H股因素,选取2006年至2010年上证180指数成分股作为研究标的。研究表明,公司内部人和机构投资者持股增加了买卖价差,并且机构投资者的影响更大,股权转让会导致买卖价差上升。股权激励在长期中能够降低买卖价差,但是在牛市行情中作用不明显。发行B、H股产生的市场分割和信息非对称会提高A股的买卖价差。     

董事会激励对公司效率影响的随机前沿分析

本文将激励形式分为两种内部激励——显性激励、隐性激励和两种外部激励——产品市场压力、资本市场压力,并以2005—2008年度中国纺织服装行业上市公司为样本,利用随机前沿模型实证分析了董事会激励对公司效率的影响。结果表明:显性激励方面,董事会薪酬激励优于权益激励;隐性激励方面,董事长更替对公司效率有积极显著的影响,而董事长和总经理的两职合一对公司效率有负面的影响。外部激励方面,产品市场的竞争压力比资本市场的收购风险对公司董事会更有约束力。     

股权结构与企业价值——对家电行业上市公司实证分析

本文以家电行业 2 0家上市公司为样本 ,分析股权结构与企业价值的相关性。结果表明 ,在竞争比较激烈的家电行业 ,股权结构与企业价值并无显著相关性。我们认为 ,增强资本市场对上市公司战略、经营绩效业绩和公司治理质量的评价功能和控制权收购功能 ,可以促进上市公司在日益激烈的产品市场和评价、控制权收购功能日益有效的资本市场双重压力下 ,选择有利于驱动公司长期可持续发展和股东价值增长的股权结构。     

财富、企业家才能与最优融资契约安排

本文认为企业家是企业发生的逻辑起点 ,是最初的“中心签约人” ,因此力图站在企业家的角度来考察企业家的融资行为。我们证明理性的企业家往往会将企业残值的优先索取权让度给外部投资者 ,从而否定了关于“投资者是最后的剩余索取者”的先验观点。在认识到“提供担保服务”是企业家自有资本的基本功能的基础上 ,我们揭示出一些关于企业家选择融资契约的规律。最后 ,我们还进一步发现即便未受财富约束 ,企业家也不会完全依靠自有资本来创业 ,因为很可能存在一个最优的企业家自有资本比例。     

Taxes,institutions and foreign diversification opportunities

Investors can access foreign diversification opportunities through either foreign portfolio investment (FPI) or foreign direct investment (FDI). The worldwide tax regime employed by the US potentially distorts this choice by penalizing FDI, relative to FPI, in low-tax countries. On the other hand, weak investor protections in foreign countries may increase the value of control, creating an incentive to use FDI rather than FPI. By combining data on US outbound FPI and FDI, this paper analyzes whether the composition of US outbound capital flows reflects these incentives to bypass home and host country institutional regimes. The results suggest that the residual tax on US multinational firms' foreign earnings skews the composition of outbound capital flows — a 10% decrease in a foreign country's corporate tax rate increases US investors' equity FPI holdings by approximately 10%, controlling for effects on FDI. Investor protections also seem to shape portfolio choices, though these results are not robust when only within-country variation is employed.     

高管过度激励、所有权性质与企业国际化战略

文章采用中国制造业上市公司的数据讨论高管薪酬激励和股权激励对企业国际化程度的影响。研究证实,由于边际递减效应在一定程度上形成所谓的过度激励,中国上市公司高管股权激励与企业国际化程度之间表现为倒U形关系;进一步研究发现,国有和民营上市公司薪酬激励和股权激励在促使企业高管开展国际化经营方面的作用迥然相异。     

Investor Protections and Concentrated Ownership: Assessing Corporate Control Mechanisms in the Netherlands

Abstract. The Berle–Means problem – information and incentive asymmetries disrupting relations between knowledgeable managers and remote investors – has remained a durable issue engaging researchers since the 1930s. However, the Berle–Means paradigm – widely dispersed, helpless investors facing strong, entrenched managers – is under stress in the wake of the cross‐country evidence presented by La Porta, Lopez‐de‐Silanes, Shleifer and Vishny, and their legal approach to corporate control. This paper continues to investigate the roles of investor protections and concentrated ownership by examining firm behaviour in the Netherlands. Our within‐country analysis generates two key results. First, the role of investor protections emphasized in the legal approach is not sustained. Rather, firm performance is enhanced when the firm is freed of equity market constraints. Second, ownership concentration does not have a discernible impact on firm performance, which may reflect large shareholders' dual role in lowering the costs of managerial agency problems but raising the agency costs of expropriation.     

Optimal Financial Structure: An Incomplete Contracting Model

The financial structures of firms observed in practice typically consist of debt claims of different priority and maturity, and outside equity with unconditional control. A simple model is developed in which this type of complex financial structure arises endogenously as a mechanism to allocate control and cash flow rights among the firm's manager and its investors. While short-term debt commits the manager to liquidate the firm in low profit states, outside equity with unconditional control allows investors to seize control in states where the manager otherwise would pursue low profit projects with high private benefits of control. Finally, long-term (junior) debt creates a debt overhang that protects the manager from excessive shareholder involvement.
JEL classification : G 32