Martinez-Peria, Maria SoledadDemirguc-Kunt, AsliTressel, Thierry2016-01-122016-01-122015-12https://hdl.handle.net/10986/23623Using a data set covering about 277,000 firms across 79 countries over the period 2004-11, this paper examines the evolution of firms capital structure during the global financial crisis and its aftermath in 2010-11. The study finds that firm leverage and debt maturity declined in advanced economies and developing countries, even in countries that did not experience a crisis. The deleveraging and maturity reduction were particularly significant for privately held firms, including small and medium enterprises. For small and medium-size enterprises, these effects were larger in countries with less efficient legal systems, weaker information-sharing mechanisms, shallower banking systems, and more restrictions on bank entry. In contrast, there is weaker evidence of a significant decline of leverage and debt maturity among firms listed on a stock exchange, which are typically much larger than other firms and likely benefit from the spare tire of easier access to capital market financing.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOPROFIT OPPORTUNITIESACCOUNTINGDEVELOPING COUNTRIESINTERESTENTRY REQUIREMENTSDEBT CRISISMATURITY STRUCTUREPRIVATE CREDITDEVELOPING COUNTRIESBANK ENTRYBANKING SYSTEMSTOTAL DEBTCAPITAL STRUCTURESEQUITY FINANCINGCAPITAL STRUCTUREBANKRUPTCY LAWLOAN SPREADSLOANLOAN MATURITIESBORROWERSDEBT OVERHANGSTOCK MARKET CAPITALIZATIONDUMMY VARIABLEBANKRUPTCYMARKET ACCESSASSET RATIOCASH FLOWSEXTERNAL FINANCEDEBT ISSUESSMALL BUSINESSLEGAL SYSTEMSINDEBTEDNESSMARKET ANALYSTSMARKET DEVELOPMENTCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTDEBT CONTRACTDEBT OUTSTANDINGDEBTCAPITAL MARKETMARKETSFINANCIAL CRISESCREDITOR RIGHTSINTERNATIONAL DEBTEXTERNAL FINANCEINVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIESCORPORATE DEBTBANK CREDITLOAN TERMSBAILOUTINVESTMENT DECISIONSTRANSACTIONSINDIVIDUAL LOANEMERGING MARKETSDEBT FINANCINGMACROECONOMIC INSTABILITYBOND MARKETSGOODCRISIS COUNTRYOWNERSHIP STRUCTURETRANSPARENCYCOUNTRY RISKMARKET CAPITALIZATIONMARKET CONDITIONSINTERNATIONAL DEBT SECURITIESTURNOVERFUTUREPRIVATE CREDIT BUREAUSHORT‐TERM DEBTCAPITALIZATIONBANKRUPTCY PROCEDURESDEBT SECURITIESCREDIT INFORMATIONISSUANCEFIRM PERFORMANCECORPORATE INVESTMENTDEFAULT PROBABILITIESMINORITY SHAREHOLDERSDEBT RATIOSSECURITIESFINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTUREFINANCIAL INFRASTRUCTURESLONG‐TERM DEBTSHAREHOLDERSFINANCIAL CRISISPOSITIVE COEFFICIENTSINTANGIBLELEGAL SYSTEMINVESTOR PROTECTIONLENDINGGLOBAL FINANCESHAREHOLDERMATURITIESFINANCIAL SYSTEMSLIABILITIESINTERNATIONAL BANKSCASH FLOWLONG‐ TERM DEBTECONOMIC RISKSTOCK MARKETSDEBT MATURITYLOAN DATAMARKET CAPDEPOSITCAPITAL MARKETSINTERNATIONAL BANKSTRADE CREDITLONG‐TERM DEBTLIQUIDATIONSTOCKDUMMY VARIABLESEXCHANGEPROPERTY RIGHTSSTOCK MARKETBANKING SYSTEMLIQUIDITYEQUITY MARKETDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTSMATURITY STRUCTUREPOLITICAL ECONOMYMORTGAGEDEPOSIT MONEY BANKSBONDSASYMMETRIC INFORMATIONTAXMARKET INFRASTRUCTURECREDITORSINTERNATIONAL BANKCREDITORPENSIONLOCAL BOND MARKETINCUMBENT BANKSCENTRAL BANKMATURITYPRIVATE BONDPROTECTION OF INVESTORPROTECTION OF INVESTORSCREDIT BUREAUSCONTRACTSBOND MARKET CAPITALIZATIONRETURNLENDERSLOANSCRISIS COUNTRIESFINANCIAL SYSTEMRULE OF LAWFINANCERETURN ON ASSETSTAXESEQUITYBANKRUPTCY LAWSINVESTORSDEBT RATIOSOVEREIGN DEBTASSETS RATIOSVALUE OF ASSETSMARKET CONTAGIONTRADE FINANCEBANKING CRISISFINANCIAL CRISISACCESS TO CAPITALSUPPLY OF CREDITASSET RATIOSRETURNSDEBT MATURITYDEBT MATURITIESBOND MARKETWORKING CAPITALCONTRACTPROPERTYBALANCE SHEETDEFAULTMARKETSTOCK MARKET DEVELOPMENTMARKET VALUECREDIT BUREAUPRODUCTIVE INVESTMENTSAVERAGE DEBTINTERESTSCORPORATE DEBTINVESTORCORPORATE BONDSBANK CREDITFIXED ASSETSFINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTBANK LOANSSTOCK EXCHANGEBANKING CRISISINVESTMENTBONDCAPITAL STRUCTURECOMPOSITION OF DEBTSHARECOLLATERALSHORT‐TERM DEBTFINANCIAL MARKETSDEBT OBLIGATIONSTANGIBLE ASSETSFINANCIAL SHOCKSINSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTEXTERNAL DEBTPROFITINVESTMENTSASSETS RATIOBANKING CRISESCAPITAL MARKET FINANCINGPROFITSFINANCIAL MARKETSCORPORATE GOVERNANCEMACROECONOMIC INSTABILITYWorking PaperWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-7522