Do Measures of Financial Constraints Measure Financial Constraints?

Review of Financial Studies 29, no. 2 (February 2016): 271-308

61 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2013 Last revised: 25 Jan 2016

See all articles by Joan Farre-Mensa

Joan Farre-Mensa

University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Finance

Alexander Ljungqvist

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Swedish House of Finance; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 18, 2015

Abstract

Financial constraints are fundamental to empirical research in finance and economics. We propose two tests to evaluate how well measures of financial constraints actually capture constraints. We find that firms typically classified as constrained do not in fact behave as if they were constrained: they have no trouble raising debt when their demand for debt increases exogenously and they use the proceeds of equity issues to increase payouts to shareholders. Our evidence suggests that extant findings that have been attributed to constraints may instead reflect differences in the growth and financing policies of firms at different stages of their lifecycles.

Keywords: Financial constraints

JEL Classification: G32, G31, G33

Suggested Citation

Farre-Mensa, Joan and Ljungqvist, Alexander and Ljungqvist, Alexander, Do Measures of Financial Constraints Measure Financial Constraints? (August 18, 2015). Review of Financial Studies 29, no. 2 (February 2016): 271-308, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2338575 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2338575

Joan Farre-Mensa (Contact Author)

University of Illinois at Chicago - Department of Finance ( email )

2431 University Hall (UH)
601 S. Morgan Street
Chicago, IL 60607-7124
United States

Alexander Ljungqvist

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Swedish House of Finance ( email )

Drottninggatan 98
111 60 Stockholm
Sweden

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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