Firms’ Financing Choice between Short-Term and Long-Term Debts: Are They Substitutes?

Abstract

When selecting debt to finance their operations and investments, companies face crucial decisions regarding the appropriate types of debt. Despite the classic Modigliani–Miller (1958) capital structure irrelevance result, real-world market frictions can significantly impact a firm's capital structure decisions. This reality means that one debt type is not a perfect substitute for another, due to differences in important factors including maturity structures, funding purposes, rollover risks, and funding costs.