The Decline of Secured Debt
研究发现，20世纪美国公司担保债务占总债务的比例持续下降，部分原因是金融发展使债权人更信任优质借款人，因此这些借款人倾向于保留财务灵活性，仅在临近财务困境时才提供担保，这也解释了担保债务份额的反周期特征。
ABSTRACT The share of secured debt issued (as a fraction of total corporate debt) declined steadily in the United States over the twentieth century. This stems partly from financial development giving creditors greater confidence that high‐quality borrowers will respect their claims even if creditors do not obtain security upfront. Consequently, such borrowers prefer retaining financial flexibility by not giving security up front. Instead, security is given contingently—when a firm approaches distress. This also explains why, superimposed on the secular decline, the share of secured debt issued is countercyclical.