Allayannis, GeorgeBrown, Gregory W.Klapper, Leora F.2012-06-222012-06-222005-03https://hdl.handle.net/10986/8861Previous research has documented weak, and sometimes conflicting, effects of legal quality on measures of firm debt. Using WorldScope data for 1,689 firms, as well as more detailed proprietary data for 315 firms across nine East Asian countries, the authors find that access to foreign financing appears to loosen borrowing constraints associated with poor legal systems. This helps resolve inconsistencies in prior findings and explains how legal protection is important for borrowing by firms. In particular, they find that legal effectiveness is important for determining the amount, maturity, and currency denomination of debt. The authors discuss several mechanisms by which firms can avoid the costs of poor legal systems with foreign borrowing. The paper contributes to the policy debate surrounding the importance of creditor rights for domestic lending.CC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTINGBANK ACCOUNTSBANK LOANSBANKING SECTORBANKING SYSTEMBANKRUPTCYBANKSBOOK VALUEBORROWINGBORROWING CONSTRAINTSCAPITAL MARKETSCAPITAL STRUCTURECAPITALIZATIONCASH FLOWSCOLLATERALCONTRACT ENFORCEMENTCORPORATE GOVERNANCECURRENCYDEBTECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTEMERGING MARKETSEMPIRICAL ANALYSISEMPIRICAL RESEARCHEMPIRICAL STUDIESEQUILIBRIUMEQUITY CAPITALEXPENDITUREEXTERNAL FINANCINGFINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTFINANCIAL ECONOMICSFINANCIAL INTERMEDIARIESFINANCIAL INTERMEDIATIONFINANCIAL MARKETSFINANCIAL RISKFINANCIAL TRANSACTIONSFISCAL YEARFIXED ASSETSFOREIGN ASSETSFOREIGN BANKSFOREIGN CURRENCYFORWARD CONTRACTSGAMBLINGGDPGDP PER CAPITAGOVERNMENT SUBSIDIESHEDGINGINFORMATION ASYMMETRIESINTEGRITYINTEREST RATEINTEREST RATESINTERNATIONAL BANKSINTERNATIONAL FINANCELAWSLEGAL PROTECTIONLIBORLOCAL CURRENCYLONDON INTERBANK OFFER RATEMARGINSMARKET VALUEMATURITYNET INTEREST MARGINOILOWNERSHIP STRUCTUREPOLITICAL ECONOMYPROFITABILITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPUBLIC BORROWINGQUANTITATIVE ANALYSISREGRESSION MODELSRELATIVE VALUESECURED LENDERSSHAREHOLDERSSTATE INTERVENTIONSUBSIDIARIESTANGIBLE ASSETSTRANSPORTWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-3530