Local public corruption and corporate debt concentration: evidence from US firms
利用2002-2016年美国非金融企业数据，研究发现腐败地区的企业倾向于同时使用多种债务类型，从而降低债务集中度，且对信息透明度高的企业影响更强。
Using debt structure data from a large sample of US non-financial companies during the period 2002–2016 combined with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) data on local public corruption, we examine the effect of public corruption on the degree of debt concentration in a firm’s debt structure. The results imply that firms in corrupt areas tend to use several debt types simultaneously, decreasing in that way debt concentration. These findings remain robust to tests that control for endogeneity. In further analysis, we show that these results are stronger for more informationally transparent firms, i.e. investment grade rated and publicly listed firms, that have easier access to capital debt markets. Lastly, in terms of debt choices, we find that firms in corrupt areas issue more commercial paper, senior bonds and capital leases, while they borrow less from banks. The study provides useful policy implications for combating corruption, as informationally opaque firms face increased barriers to debt financing.