Managerial Use of Debt to Fund Municipal Government Risks*

In recent years, managers of municipalities have been forced to reevaluate the cost-effectiveness of their risk management strategy. In many cases, individual or groups of municipalities (pools) finance a self-insurance plan through the issuance of debt. However, no decision-making methodology for cost-effectively structuring the debt issue presently exists. Utilizing a math programming model, we examine a self-insurance alternative to conventional insurance that uses tax-exempt debt supplemented by taxable borrowing to finance a municipality's or pool's liability exposure. We implement our optimization model with actuarial and financial data from an intergovernmental risk pool (IRP) in the state of California, and simulate the effect of the trade-offs important to sound managerial decision making. We find that significant savings are realized by using a self-insurance plan rather than purchasing conventional insurance. We also find that managerial goals and risk preferences impact the decision when revenue flows are insufficient by themselves to reasonably fund expected losses.     

SMUGGLING HUMANS: A THEORY OF DEBT‐FINANCED MIGRATION

We introduce financial constraints in a theoretical analysis of illegal immigration. Intermediaries finance the migration costs of wealth‐constrained migrants, who enter temporary servitude contracts to repay the debt. These debt/labor contracts are easier to enforce in the illegal than in the legal sector of the host country. Hence, when moving from the illegal to the legal sector becomes more costly—for instance, because of stricter deportation policies—fewer immigrants default on debt. This reduces the risks for intermediaries, who are then more willing to finance illegal migration. Stricter deportation policies may thus, ex ante, increase rather than decrease the flow of illegal migrants. Furthermore, stricter deportation policies worsen the skill composition of immigrants. While stricter border controls decrease overall immigration, they may result in an increase of debt‐financed migration. We also show that there are complementarities between employer sanctions and deportation policies. We use available evidence to check the empirical consistency of the theory. (JEL: J61, K42, O17)     

我国家族上市公司控制权私人收益的影响因素研究

当家族利益与上市企业利益相分离时,家族有动机攫取控制权私人收益。采用控股股权转让与非控股股权转让的溢价差来度量控制权私人收益的方法,实证研究发现我国家族上市企业的控制权私人收益水平达到30.56%;控制权私人收益水平与资产负债率显著正相关,与企业规模显著负相关,与控股股权转让比例存在不稳定的正相关关系,与股权离散度和大股东制衡不相关。研究结果说明我国家族上市企业的公司治理存在着结构形式完整,控制权配置不合理的缺陷。     

村级债务的现状、体制成因及其化解——对223个行政村及3个样本县(市)的调查

以对223个样本村和3个样本县的调查为基础,本文分析了中国村级债务的规模、来源结构、用途结构和偿债能力,对形成村级债务深层次体制性原因进行了剖析。结果表明,村级债务问题对农村经济社会的影响已经不容忽视。本文提出了化解村级债务的基本思路:要积极采取有效措施化解存量债务,更为重要的是,要建立严格的政绩考核制度和责任追究制、改革完善公共财政体制、完善党组织领导下的村民自治制度,从根本上消除不合理村级债务的形成机制。     

中小企业财务结构与债务融资——基于浙江的实证研究

本文以浙江省中小企业为研究对象,主要讨论三方面内容:(1)全面分析中小企业财务结构与融资特征,并与大企业作比较,得出部分中小企业在偿债能力、营运能力和盈利能力等方面均不逊色于大企业;(2)从微观角度,对中小企业主要债务融资作实证分析,识别影响中小企业债务融资的显著因素。同时根据回归结果证实中小企业主要债务融资的成本比较优势依次为:银行贷款、商业信用和非正规融资;(3)利用Kruskal-Wallis非参数检验方法判定行业因素对中小企业债务融资具有显著差异,而宏观经济周期变化对其影响却不显著。本文结论的另一重要性在于,填补主流文献仅从金融机构或政府金融体制建设等方面寻求破解中小企业融资难的答案,从企业自身经营和财务管理角度解释中小企业融资难的原因。     

Corporation taxes and the debt policy of multinational firms

This paper analyzes the impact of corporate taxes on the capital structure of foreign subsidiaries of multinational firms. The empirical investigation employs a large micro-level panel dataset of German multinationals covering 31 countries over a 10-year period. A special feature of this dataset is that it allows us to distinguish between internal and external debt financing. Our results confirm a positive effect of local tax rates on both types of debt. Moreover, while adverse local credit market conditions are found to reduce external borrowing, internal debt is increasing, supporting the view that the two channels of debt finance are substitutes. Our findings suggest that internal credit markets give rise to significant advantages and enhance multinationals?? opportunities to use debt as a tax shield.     

战略扩张与融资选择

结合信息经济学和代理成本理论的研究结论建立了一个公司扩张战略对融资契约影响 的模型. 研究结果显示公司横向一体化战略扩张所获得的剩余与债务比率正相关,但是如果公 司计划从纵向一体化中获得剩余,减少负债水平并增加专用性投资水平是理性选择. 而且模型 对公司融资契约的委托代理问题进行了分析,认为现金流对融资契约产生重要影响. 在此基础 上对模型的主要结论进行了实证检验,检验结果与主要研究结果相吻合. 最后,为公司战略扩 张和融资决策提供了若干建议.     

管理者过度自信、税盾拐点与公司绩效

随着行为公司金融的兴起,管理者非理性尤其是过度自信的认知偏差与公司财务决策关系的研究成为一个新的研究热点.基于中国制度背景,以2002年至2007年沪深两市A股上市公司为观测值,考察管理者过度自信、债务政策与公司绩效之间的关系.采用Tobit和Lopstic回归模型,从管理者过度自信视角,利用税盾拐点考察公司的债务政策.实证检验结果发现,管理者过度自信显著影响公司的债务政策,公司税盾拐点随管理者过度自信程度的增强而降低,表明过度自信管理者将实施更为激进的债务融资策略.利用OLS回归模型检验过度自信管理者实施的债务政策与公司绩效之间的关系,发现公司绩效随债务税盾拐点的降低而下降,意味着如果过度自信管理者奉行的债务政策是激进的,将对公司绩效产生不利影响.     

认知偏差、债务政策选择偏好和资本结构税收效应

本文针对管理者认知偏差对其债务政策选择的影响问题进行研究,通过建立认知偏差影响下的最优资本结构决策模型,从行为金融学的角度研究了债务政策选择的税收效应,并以中国上市公司2006-2009年的数据为样本,使用多元回归分析等方法对相关结论进行了实证检验。研究表明:上市公司的债务政策受到了认知偏差的影响,即随着财务困境成本的不断增大,上市公司对其变化的敏感性不断降低;认知偏差严重时,上市公司会选择过度保守负债或过度积极负债,导致最优资本结构与税率无关;认知偏差不严重时,上市公司会选择适度负债,且负债水平与税率正相关。结论表明中国上市公司需要更为客观地评价财务困境成本,更为理性地利用负债的税收收益,尽可能避免认知偏差对企业价值的损害。     

公司财务与投资者法律保护研究述评

近年来,财务学的研究发生了一系列方向性的变化,其中之一是"法律与财务"交叉研究思潮的兴起,简称"Law and Finance".从宏观层面看,其主要研究法与金融发展和经济增长的关系;从微观层面看,其主要研究法,特别是中小投资者法律保护与公司财务的关系.文章从微观层面,系统地回顾投资者法律保护与公司财务的研究现状和发展动态,特别是对投资者法律保护与公司财务研究的八大热点问题进行系统的总结和评述,并讨论当前"法与财务"研究存在的两大问题,最后指出"法与财务"未来研究的三大趋势.     

Managing Uncertainty through Profit Sharing Contracts from Medieval Italy to Silicon Valley

Organizational innovation is essential to economic development. But, the way successful societies have organized new ventures has been remarkably similar in both past and present. The commenda organizations of medieval Italy shared many characteristics with modern startups that are financed by venture capital. Profit share contracts; limited liability and periodic reevaluations are cases in point. Agency contracts in both types of ventures are designed to absorb the high uncertainty inherent to these enterprises through risk sharing. Uncertainty prohibits a unique ex ante ranking order of investment projects and prompts investors to look for hidden human capital. Equity finance is better equipped to even out unexpected losses and gains that are inherent to uncertainty than debt finance.     

公司治理影响债务期限结构类型吗?——来自中国上市公司的经验证据

本文采用面板数据,应用Logit模型和排序选择模型实证检验公司治理机制如何影响债务期限结构类型。研究发现公司治理确实对债务期限结构类型具有显著影响。经验结果大多支持治理水平高的公司,其内部人（管理者,控制股东）受到更严格的监督,债务供给者（银行）更愿意为其提供长期债务,其更倾向使用高的债务期限类型的论点。     

Taxes,risky investments,and the simultaneous choice of organizational form and financing

By taking explicit account of liability limitations, we analyse the influence of taxes on the simultaneous choice of organizational form and financing. In a two-state model for a single reporting period investors striving for maximisation of expected utility choose the organizational form (with or without liability limitation) in which they implement a given risky real investment and decide how they finance it (equity or debt). We demonstrate that liability limitations result in tax-relevant differences between organizational forms. Thus, for example, the tax bases differ in relation to the chosen liability-contingent debt capital compensations as well as to tax loss offset rules. Therefore, even in the event of identical tax rates, taxes can influence the decision regarding the organizational form.     

基于社会网络视角的企业社会责任行为相似性研究

本文利用国泰安数据库和锐思数据库中2010年-2012年的我国上市公司管理层数据、公司财务数据,以及润灵环球责任评级2010年-2012年我国A股上市公司的企业社会责任评级数据,从社会网络的角度出发,探索我国上市公司社会责任履行行为的相似性。研究结果发现,公司之间存在的社会网络会造成企业社会责任履行行为具有一定的相似性。当企业越是处于核心地位,越是容易传播信息,控制能力越强的时候,该公司同与之相关联的公司在社会责任履行行为方面越是具有相似性。这一结论为改善我国企业社会责任履行现状提供了一个全新的思考方向。     

The Role of Debt Contracts in UK Corporate Governance

The model of managerial incentives used in Positive Accounting Theory sees debt contracts as important in accounting choices in firms. The paper argues that agency theory and costly contracting theory imply a much wider role for debt contracts as corporate governance mechanisms for controlling relationships between lenders and firms. We analyse the creditor's problem in providing debt to the firm in terms of anticipated agency costs. This analysis leads to a consideration of contracting solutions involving the choice of debt contract terms providing credit protections which are efficient in agency cost and contracting cost terms.The model of debt contracts accepted in the literature is based upon US research, both theoretical and empirical, and thus reflects US institutional experience. This model involves detailed bonding and monitoring terms focusing upon financial and other covenants and implies customisation of such terms to meet creditors' contracting requirements. The paper reviews evidence on the applicability of this model in practice and concludes that, despite broad similarities, institutional biases are present if the model is applied to countries other than the US. We examine evidence on UK debt contracting practices, in particular contract form and content, types of covenant, lenders' perceptions of the role of covenants as control mechanisms, and the issue of standardisation versus customisation. The paper identifies important differences in debt contracting in the UK, for example in types of covenants and the role perceived for them by creditors and identifies standardisation in contract terms as being more common than often implied by other research.     

收益公布效应的实证研究

股票市场的有效性研究是金融经济学的一个重要基础 .国外对此作了广泛深入的研究 ,其中事件研究方法是一个重要的方法 ,其普遍适应性导致了它的广泛应用 .目前对我国股票市场有效性的实证研究尚处于起步阶段 ,本文试图采用事件研究方法主要针对上海股市进行收益公布的实证研究 .本文研究的经验结果对我国股市的半强式有效性提供了一个重要支持     

分类管控下的债务风险与风险传染网络研究

防范化解重大风险,守住不发生系统性金融风险的底线是我国经济工作的重心之一。本文针对部门债务,从债务口径、债务结构和偿付风险3个层次深入研究了实体经济债务风险的关键问题,提出了分类管控我国债务风险的理论模型。从部门间债务的比较分析中,本文发现非金融企业债务在实体经济债务中具有极高的系统重要性,针对这一特点,我们构建了双层交易对手方风险传染网络模型。以江苏省和山东省产业债发行人担保网为样本,基于该模型研究了区域非金融企业间债务风险传染结构,并根据综合节点度与对外风险敞口两类指标识别出若干核心风险传染节点。研究发现我国非金融企业部门内的债务间存在较强关联性,是潜在的区域系统性风险源。本文认为,我国当前的宏观债务问题存在国情特殊性,应尽快建立符合中国国情的债务风险和压力分析评估体系,为防范金融风险提供分类施策工具。     

Bubbles and Self‐Enforcing Debt

We characterize equilibria with endogenous debt constraints for a general equilibrium economy with limited commitment in which the only consequence of default is losing the ability to borrow in future periods. First, we show that equilibrium debt limits must satisfy a simple condition that allows agents to exactly roll over existing debt period by period. Second, we provide an equivalence result, whereby the resulting set of equilibrium allocations with self‐enforcing private debt is equivalent to the allocations that are sustained with unbacked public debt or rational bubbles. In contrast to the classic result by Bulow and Rogoff (1989a), positive levels of debt are sustainable in our environment because the interest rate is sufficiently low to provide repayment incentives.     

基于双层粒子群算法的上下游企业决策动态博弈

在寡占市场结构下,企业决策的相互影响效应更为显著。此时,企业融资决策与产量决策不仅仅影响自身利润,而且会影响到其竞争对手和供应商,即企业决策的策略性效应。本文建立一个考虑产品替代性与市场环境波动内外因素的上下游企业决策动态博弈模型,针对该决策的非线性二层规划特点,设计了双层粒子群算法,并利用计算机模拟技术对企业决策进行分析。研究发现,第一,产品替代性对下游企业具有“竞争效应”,对上游企业生产与利润的下降具有“放大效应”,与债务融资有限责任效应相比,产品替代性的“竞争效应”对下游企业的产量博弈和利润影响更大,另外,债务有限责任效应与债务破产效应左右了产品替代性对下游企业破产均衡临界点的影响。第二,市场环境波动对企业产量决策和融资决策的影响与Wanzenried^[1]一致,而在影响下游企业利润和上游企业利润方面并不一致。第三,针对负债融资和无负债融资两种情形,不论产品替代性较低还是较高,较高的市场波动程度都能促使负债企业考虑债务的战略性作用,且下游企业的负债融资存在“Prisoner’s Dilemma”现象,上游企业的垄断市场地位则加强了下游企业负债融资“放大效应”对其利润的影响。