We develop a dynamic tradeoff model to examine the importance of manager-shareholder conflicts in capital structure choice. In the model, firms face taxation, refinancing costs, and liquidation costs. Managers own a fraction of the firms’ equity, capture part of the free cash flow to equity as private benefits, and have control over financing decisions. Using data on leverage choices and the mo...

BACKGROUND Uganda is proposing introduction of the National Health Insurance scheme (NHIS) in a phased manner with the view to obtaining additional funding for the health sector and promoting financial risk protection. In this paper, we have assessed the proposed NHIS from an equity perspective, exploring the extent to which NHIS would improve existing disparities in the health sector. METHOD...

This paper reviews the experience of implementing user fees in Africa. It describes the two main approaches to implementing user fees that have been applied in African countries, the standard and the Bamako Initiative models, and their common objectives. It summarizes the evidence concerning the impact of fees on equity, efficiency and system sustainability (as opposed to financial sustainabili...

There is some controversy on the key sources of success in the private equity model and on how this business model affects the portfolio companies. We investigate operating performance and financial constraints of European companies around the buyout event in the period between 2000 and 2008. In addition, we analyze whether these companies go bankrupt more often than comparable non-buyout compa...

This paper studies the optimal choice of home equity release products. The decision problem of a retiring couple is modeled that holds the major fraction of their wealth as home equity and faces longevity, long-term care, house price, and interest rate risk. The couple can choose to buy annuities, long-term care insurance, and to borrow against the home using different equity release products. ...

BACKGROUND Shortage and maldistribution of the health workforce is a major problem in the Thai health system. The expansion of healthcare access to achieve universal health coverage placed additional demand on the health system especially on the health workers in the public sector who are the major providers of health services. At the same time, the reform in hospital payment methods resulted i...

This paper shows that borrowers’ ethical behavior leads lending banks to loosen financing conditions when setting loan rates. We advance the banking literature by stressing that the previous financing loosening is enhanced when there is similarity of lenders and borrowers along their ethical domain given that such similarity brings about familiarity and trust in non-opportunistic behavior betwe...

The gender gap in entrepreneurship is well-documented. Firms founded by females raise significantly less start-up capital, which hurts their chances of success. There is empirical evidence that the gap can be partially explained by factors in the financial industry and by female entrepreneurs’ preferences for particular types of financing. A new method of acquiring startup capital, equity crowd...

This paper examines how asset risk impacts corporate investment and financing decisions. We derive a general model that incorporates risk, adjustment cost, and depreciation features of assets-in-place into investment decisions. The model suggests that the risk and adjustment cost of assets-in-place reduce both corporate investment and financing. We empirically test the model in a panel of US fi...

We study how the availability of domestic credit influences the contribution that financing activities make to a firm’s return on equity (ROE). Using a sample of 51,866 firms from 69 countries, we find that financing activities contribute more to a firm’s ROE in countries with higher domestic credit. The higher contribution of financing activities is not driven by firms taking greater leverage ...