Prague Economic Papers 2004, 13(2):159-175 | DOI: 10.18267/j.pep.237

Capital Structure of Listed Companies in Visegrad Countries

Patrik Bauer
Institute of Economic Studies, Charles University, Opletalova 26, CZ - 110 00 Prague 1 and IDET, Department of Economics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich (e-mail: Patrik.Bauer@seznam.cz).

This paper analyzes capital structure of listed companies in Visegrad countries during the period from 2000 to 2001. The results are based on the database, which assembles financial reports of listed firms. In general, leverage of these firms is relatively low if measured in book value, but it is relatively high if assessed in market value. Quasi-maximum likelihood estimation is used in order to investigate the determinants of capital structure. According to the results, leverage of a company is positively correlated with size and it is negatively correlated with profitability, tangibility and non-debt tax shields. There is a negative relationship between leverage measured in market value and growth opportunities. Moreover, leverage decreases with volatility, albeit on a lower level of statistical significance.

Keywords: capital structure, determinants of capital structure, leverage, Visegrad countries
JEL classification: G32

Published: January 1, 2004  Show citation

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Bauer, P. (2004). Capital Structure of Listed Companies in Visegrad Countries. Prague Economic Papers, 13(2), 159-175. doi: 10.18267/j.pep.237
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