Human Capital Investment, New Firm Creation and Venture Capital
Merih Sevilir
Journal of Financial Intermediation,
No. 4,
2010
Abstract
This paper studies the relation between firm investment in general human capital, new firm creation and financial development for new firm financing, such as the existence of a venture capital industry. On one hand, firm investment in general human capital leads employees to generate new innovative ideas for starting their own firm. Since employees need a venture capitalist to start their new firm, firm investment in general human capital encourages the creation of venture capitalists by increasing the need for their services, such as providing advice and monitoring. On the other hand, as new firm financing becomes available, firms' willingness to invest in general human capital increases, and as a by-product, the creation of employee-founded and venture capital-backed new firms increases in the economy. Hence, our model provides a rational explanation for the emergence of new firms created by employees of established firms, which represents one of the most common type of new firms in many industries.
Read article
Size and Focus of a Venture Capitalist's Portfolio
Paolo Fulghieri, Merih Sevilir
Review of Financial Studies,
No. 11,
2009
Abstract
We take a portfolio approach to analyze the investment strategy of a venture capitalist (VC) and show that portfolio size and scope affect both the entrepreneurs' and the VC's incentives to exert effort. A small portfolio improves entrepreneurial incentives because it allows the VC to concentrate the limited human capital on a smaller number of startups, adding more value. A large and focused portfolio is beneficial because it allows the VC to reallocate the limited resources and human capital in the case of startup failure and allows the VC to extract greater rents from the entrepreneurs. We show that the VC finds it optimal to limit portfolio size when startups have higher payoff potential - that is, when providing strong entrepreneurial incentives is most valuable. The VC expands portfolio size only when startup fundamentals are more moderate and when he can form a sufficiently focused portfolio. Finally, we show that the VC may find it optimal to engage in portfolio management by divesting some of the startups early since this strategy allows him to extract a greater surplus.
Read article
Organization and Financing of Innovation, and the Choice between Corporate and Independent Venture Capital
Paolo Fulghieri, Merih Sevilir
Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis,
No. 6,
2009
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of competition on the optimal organization and financing structures in innovation-intensive industries. We show that as an optimal response to competition, firms may choose external organization structures established in collaboration with specialized start-ups where they provide start-up financing from their own resources. As the intensity of the competition to innovate increases, firms move from internal to external organization of projects to increase the speed of product innovation and to obtain a competitive advantage with respect to rival firms in their industry. We also show that as the level of competition increases, firms provide a higher level of financing for externally organized projects in the form of corporate venture capital (CVC). Our results help explain the emergence of organization and financing arrangements such as CVC and strategic alliances, where large established firms organize their projects in collaboration with external specialized firms and provide financing for externally organized projects from their own internal resources.
Read article
Bank Lending, Bank Capital Regulation and Efficiency of Corporate Foreign Investment
Diemo Dietrich, Achim Hauck
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 4,
2007
Abstract
In this paper we study interdependencies between corporate foreign investment and the capital structure of banks. By committing to invest predominantly at home, firms can reduce the credit default risk of their lending banks. Therefore, banks can refinance loans to a larger extent through deposits thereby reducing firms’ effective financing costs. Firms thus have an incentive to allocate resources inefficiently as they then save on financing costs. We argue that imposing minimum capital adequacy for banks can eliminate this incentive by putting a lower bound on financing costs. However, the Basel II framework is shown to miss this potential.
Read article
Asset Tangibility and Capital Allocation within Multinational Corporations
Diemo Dietrich
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 4,
2006
Abstract
We investigate capital allocation across a firm's divisions that differ with respect to the degree of asset tangibility. We adopt an incomplete contracting approach where the outcome of potential debt renegotiations depends on the liquidation value of assets. However, with diversity in terms of asset tangibility, liquidation proceeds depend on how funds have been allocated across divisions. As diversity can be traced back to institutional differences between countries, we provide a rationale for multidivisional decision- making in an international context. A main finding is that multinationals may be bound to go to certain countries when financiers cannot control the capital allocation.
Read article
Local Taxes and Capital Structure Choice
Reint E. Gropp
International Tax and Public Finance,
No. 1,
2002
Abstract
This paper investigates the question of taxation and capital structure choice in Germany. Germany represents an excellent case study for investigating the question of whether and to what extent taxes influence the debt-equity decision of firms, because the relative tax burdens on debt and equity vary greatly across communities. German communities levy local taxes on profits and long-term debt payments in addition to personal and corporate taxes on the federal level. A stylized model is presented incorporating these taxes. The model shows that local taxes create substantial incentives for firms to use debt financing. Furthermore, the paper empirically investigates the effect of local business taxes on the share of debt used to finance incremental investments by German firms. I find that local taxes significantly influence the capital structure choice of firms, controlling for a large number of other factors. In an extensive sensitivity analysis the tax effect are found to be robust across several different specifications.
Read article
Macroeconomic and corporate adjustment progress in East Germany
Forschungsreihe,
No. 6,
1998
Abstract
Schwerpunktthema des 18. Berichtes ist der Stand der Reindustrialisierung in den neuen Ländern. Hierzu werden die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen zur Branchenstruktur und zur Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der Unternehmen präsentiert. Besonders beleuchtet wurden die Entwicklung auf den Absatzmärkten, der Kapitalstock, die Kosten- und Ertragssituation, Forschung und Entwicklung und die Einbindung der Unternehmen in Netzwerke.
Read article
The Effect of Expected Effective Corporate Tax Rates on Incremental Financing Decisions
Reint E. Gropp
IMF Staff Papers,
No. 4,
1997
Abstract
This paper uses U.S. panel data to estimate the effect of expected effective corporate tax rates on the amount of debt issued by firms. The paper directly estimates expected corporate tax rates using rational expectations. The estimated measures of expected effective tax rates of firms are related to a continuous measure of incremental debt financing. The paper finds that expected effective tax rates are significantly and positively related to a higher level of debt financing. Simulations suggest that debt issues would double if firms were unable to shield profits and actually faced the statutory tax rate.
Read article
Capital equipment and productivity gap in East German corporate sector
Vera Dietrich
Wirtschaft im Wandel,
No. 7,
1997
Abstract
Die realisierte Arbeitsproduktivität wird wesentlich von der Kapitalausstattung der Unternehmen
sowie der Auslastung der Kapazitäten bestimmt. Eine zentrale Ursache für die Produktivitätsdifferenz zu westdeutschen Unternehmen ist in dem Umstand zu suchen, daß in Ostdeutschland weniger kapitalintensiv produziert wird. Das Anlagevermögen ist dabei im Durchschnitt moderner als das der westdeutschen Unternehmen und durch eine hohe Auslastung der Ausrüstungen gekennzeichnet. Die geringere Kapitalintensität der Produktion ist primär als Folge transformationsbedingt unterschiedlicher Wirtschaftsstrukturen einzuordnen und läßt zunächst keine Schlussfolgerungen im Hinblick auf die technische Effizienz der Produktion zu. Eine weitere Angleichung der Faktoreinsatzrelationen an westdeutsche Verhältnisse ist dennoch zu erwarten. Sie muß von einer entsprechenden Erhöhung der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Produktionsmöglichkeiten und einer realistischen Lohnpolitik begleitet werden, um negative Auswirkungen auf die Beschäftigung auszuschließen. Der Spielraum für beschäftigungsneutrale Einkommenssteigerungen wird dabei immer von der erzielten Arbeitsproduktivität vorgegeben.
Read article
Corporate Taxation and Capital Structure Choice in Germany: A General Equilibrium Model
Reint E. Gropp
FinanzArchiv,
No. 2,
1995
Abstract
Read article