Corporate governance and capital structure in developing countries: a case study of Bangladesh

Authors: Haque, Faizul¹; Arun, Thankom Gopinath²; Kirkpatrick, Colin³

Source: Applied Economics, Volume 43, Number 6, March 2011 , pp. 673-681(9)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $49.55 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

This paper investigates the influence of firm-level corporate governance on the capital structure pattern of non-financial listed firms, using a case study of Bangladesh. The agency theory suggests that better corporate governance will reduce agency costs and improve investor confidence, which in turn will enhance the ability of a firm to gain access to equity finance, reducing dependence on debt finance. Conversely, the controlling shareholders of poorly governed firms are likely to prefer debt, in order to retain absolute ownership and control rights. The OLS regression framework uses a questionnaire-survey based Corporate Governance Index (CGI). The study results seem to support agency theory, with a statistically significant inverse relationship between corporate governance quality and the total as well as long-term debt ratios.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00036840802599909

Affiliations: 1: Department of Accountancy and Finance, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom 2: Lancashire Business School, University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire, United Kingdom 3: Impact Assessment Research Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom,Regulation Research Programme, Centre on Regulation and Competition, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom

Publication date: 2011-03-01

More about this publication?