Do Politically Connected Board Members Influence Firms' Debt Choices? Public Debt Versus Bank Debt
研究发现，董事会成员与政府的关系越强，企业越倾向于选择公共债务而非银行债务，且这种关系受官员级别、党派归属和地缘政治因素影响。
ABSTRACT Using a unique hand‐collected data set on the political connections of board members of S&P 1500 companies, we find that board members with stronger government ties are positively associated with firms' preference for public debt over bank debt. This relationship is more pronounced in firms connected to high‐ranking officials and appointed politicians. Additionally, using quarterly data from 2015 to 2018 and difference‐in‐differences (DID) analyses, we find that political ties are differently related to firms' debt choices based on different party affiliations, types of political connections, and geopolitical factors.