Entrepreneur’s incentives for risk-taking and short-term debt

We investigate the effects of short-term debt for entrepreneur’s incentives for risk-taking. To do so, we develop a model by introducing short-term debt and financing frictions into the entrepreneur framework. The more risk-averse entrepreneur overestimates the liquidity risk and undervalues the private equity, leading to higher incentives for risk-taking. Short-term debt mitigates the risk-shifting problem induced by the entrepreneur’s preference while generating additional risk-taking incentives via rollover risk. We consequently challenge the view of Seta et al. (2020) by predicting a trade-off between the two effects of short-term debt for entrepreneurs, offering a new perspective to harmonize the existing arguments.     

Callable or convertible debt? The role of debt overhang and covenants

We analyze what role debt overhang and covenants have in a manager’s choice between issuing callable or convertible debt when a firm needs to issue a substantial amount of debt. Callable bonds provide a higher coupon in exchange for a repurchase option. Convertible bonds offer bondholders the option to exchange debt to equity. Using a dynamic capital structure model with investment choice, we find that callable debt implies a larger debt overhang friction, and for highly leveraged firms convertible debt is preferred. Moreover, if outstanding bonds have net-worth covenants attached, callable bonds are more likely to be issued. Our empirical findings support the theory.     

Confucian culture and corporate bond pricing

We investigate the effect of Confucian culture on corporate bond pricing. Using the birthplace data of 56,759 Jinshi in the Ming and Qing dynasties to construct a proxy of Confucian culture, we find a significantly negative relation between Confucian culture and bond pricing: the stronger the Confucian atmosphere of the corporate headquarters’ location, the higher the bond rating and the lower the credit spread. This conclusion still holds after using the distance to the nearest ancient printing office as an instrumental variable and a series of robustness tests. The mechanism test shows that Confucian culture can improve the pricing efficiency of corporate bonds by fostering investors’ trust, alleviating principal–agent problems and restraining bad corporate behaviors. Moreover, the impact of Confucian culture on corporate bond pricing is greater for firms located in regions with weak legal and other formal institutional constraints and for unlisted companies. Our study complements the literature on culture and bond pricing, and provides policy insights from traditional Chinese wisdom for improving the efficiency of financial markets.     

Do green financial policies offset the climate transition risk penalty imposed on long-term sovereign bond yields?

Asset valuations in high-carbon sectors face significant corrections due to climate risks. This paper specifically analyses whether markets impose a penalty on long-term sovereign bonds issued by countries facing higher climate-related transition risk while rewarding those that have implemented green financial policies to mitigate these risks. We find that higher carbon dioxide emissions and a lower sustainable development score (both proxies for transition risks) lead to an increase in long-term sovereign bond yields. However, the presence of green financial policies appears to offset this climate transition risk premium.     

Oil price uncertainty and the cost of debt: Evidence from the Chinese bond market

This paper explores the impact of oil price uncertainty affects the cost of debt in China. By analyzing the bond data from 2008 to 2019 in China, we find that oil price fluctuation boost bond offering spread, denoting that oil price uncertainty may increase the cost of debt. This increase is likely due to higher default risks resulting from the heightened oil price uncertainty. Moreover, non-state-owned firms and those in the energy industry are more susceptible to the effects of oil price volatility. Our findings also reveal an asymmetric effect of oil price uncertainty on the cost of debt, with a stronger impact observed from positive uncertainty compared to negative uncertainty. This study contributes to the current understanding of the ways in which oil price uncertainty impacts the cost of debt in an emerging country.     

提高直接融资比重有助于提升企业价值吗?——基于短债长投的分析视角

采用中国地级城市2002-2022年面板数据和上市企业微观数据,研究城市直接融资比重对企业价值的影响。研究结果表明:(1)提高城市直接融资比重有助于提升企业价值;(2)提高城市直接融资比重通过降低企业“短债长投”水平提升企业价值;(3)对于资本市场信息不对称程度高和产品市场竞争程度高的企业中,提高城市直接融资比重能够更显著地改善企业融资行为,提升企业价值。研究结果为从区域金融结构角度理解企业融资行为与价值提升提供了微观证据;为企业降杠杆的有效环境提供了实证证据;为深化资本市场改革、改善企业融资环境、转变企业经营行为,从而促进企业长期价值增值提供了政策启示。