Angelica Gonzalez

Leverage and Financing Choices: Firm-Specific Longitudinal Evidence

We follow the financing choices over time of established companies with initial high profitability and low leverage, company by company. The behaviour of most suggests preference for low leverage or indifference to leverage so long as it is not excessive (debt/assets above 50%). Companies lever up in order to fund a large expenditure, and de-lever subsequently if they have cash inflows. Sustained leverage is associated with recurrent large expenditures. Share issues are an important source of funds and most issuers have good profitability, showing that share issues are important for healthy companies.

Online Technical Appendix: Gender Equality and the Spillover EEects of Women on Boards

This technical appendix presents supporting tables and analysis examining the robustness of the findings described in the main paper.