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External governance and debt agency costs of family firms

Author

Listed:
  • Andrew Ellul
  • Levent Guntay
  • Ugur Lel
Abstract
We investigate the impact of family blockholders on the firm's debt agency costs under different investor protection environments. On one hand, families--through their undiversified investments, inter-generation presence, and reputation concerns--can mitigate debt agency costs. On the other hand, families--through their unique power position that can lead to private benefits extraction and higher bankruptcy risk--can exacerbate debt agency costs. The actual impact can go either way and what matters should be the creditors' protection environment. Using international bond issues from 1995 to 2000 for 1,072 international firms originating from 24 different countries, we find that family firms originating from low investor protection environments suffer from higher debt costs compared to non-family firms, while family firms originating from high investor protection environments benefit from lower debt costs compared to non-family firms. We find no impact from non-family blockholdings. These results are robust to various specifications and confirmed by an out-of-sample test using bonds issued by U.S. and foreign firms listed in the U.S. originating from 27 different countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew Ellul & Levent Guntay & Ugur Lel, 2007. "External governance and debt agency costs of family firms," International Finance Discussion Papers 908, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgif:908
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Godlewski, Christophe J. & Le, Nhung Hong, 2022. "Family firms and the cost of borrowing: empirical evidence from East Asia," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Swanpitak, Tanapond & Pan, Xiaofei & Suardi, Sandy, 2020. "The value of family control during political uncertainty: Evidence from Thailand's constitutional change in 201411We are grateful for helpful comments and suggestions provided by Shu-Ching Chou, Wooch," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Truong, Cameron, 2011. "Post-earnings announcement abnormal return in the Chinese equity market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 637-661.
    5. Swanpitak, Tanapond & Pan, Xiaofei & Suardi, Sandy, 2020. "Family control and cost of debt: Evidence from Thailand," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Can An & Xiaofei Pan & Gary Tian, 2016. "How Does Corporate Governance Affect Loan Collateral? Evidence from Chinese SOEs and Non-SOEs," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 325-356, September.
    7. Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami & Anis Samet, "undated". "The Effects of Analyst Forecast Properties on the Cost of Debt: International Evidence," Finance Working Papers 15-12/2013, School of Business Administration, American University of Sharjah.
    8. Tanaka, Takanori, 2014. "Corporate governance and the cost of public debt financing: Evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 315-335.
    9. Daniela Bragoli & Flavia Cortelezzi & Giovanni Marseguerra, 2016. "R&D, capital structure and ownership concentration: evidence from Italian microdata," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 223-242, April.
    10. Cueto, Diego C., 2013. "Substitutability and complementarity of corporate governance mechanisms in Latin America," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 310-325.
    11. Stacchini, Massimiliano & Degasperi, Petra, 2015. "Trust, family businesses and financial intermediation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 293-316.
    12. Nieves Lidia Díaz‐Díaz & Pedro J. García‐Teruel & Pedro Martínez‐Solano, 2023. "Private family firms, generations and bank debt," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3043-3075, September.
    13. Pan, Xiaofei & Tian, Gary Gang, 2016. "Family control and loan collateral: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 53-68.

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